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I 


SKETCHES 


OF  SOME  OF  THE 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA, 

OF  THE 

CHEROKEES,  AM  THE  AUTHOR. 


/O 


K 

NEW  YORK: 

D . APPLETON  AND  COMPANY, 

346  & 34S  BROADWAY. 

LONDON:  16  LITTLE  BKITAIN. 


Jf.D'CCC'.LV. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress  in  the  year  1854,  hy 

D.  APPLETON  & CO., 

in  the  Clerk’s  Office  of  the  District  Court  for  the  Southern  District  of  New -York. 


TO 


WHOSE 


THE  VIRGINIANS,  NORTH  CAROLINIANS, 

AND  THEIR  DESCENDANTS, 

INDUSTRY  AND  ECONOMY,  HONESTY  AND  ENERGY, 
HAVE  MADE  GEORGIA 

THE  MOST  PROSPEROUS  OF  STATES, 

Ij i s look 

IS  RESPECTFULLY  DEDICATED  BY 


THE  AUTHOR. 


/ 


INTRODUCTION. 


It  may  be  proper  to  say  a word  or  two  about  the  contents  of 
this  book,  and  why  it  was  written.  The  Author  is  an  old  man, 
who  has  passed  his  sixty-fourth  year.  Continued  ill  health  ren- 
dered him  unable  for  a long  while  to  undergo  labor,  or  bear 
much  jostling  from  others.  He  has  endeavored  to  pass  cpuetly 
on.  by  getting  into  an  untrodden  track.  Scribbling,  when  tired 
of  reading,  he  found  to  be  a pleasant  relief  from  the  tedium  of 
unoccupied  time.  He  wrote  until  he  disliked  to  lose  his  labor. 
He  publishes  his  scribblings  with  the  hope  that  others  may 
think  that  he  did  right  in  not  throwing  them  away. 

The  first  part  of  his  book  is  an  account  of  the  settlement 
made  by  a number  of  Virginia  families  on  Broad  River,  imme- 
diately after  the  revolutionary  war.  In  tracing  the  causes  of 
the  present  happy  condition  of  the  people  of  Georgia  to  the 
character  of  the  settlers,  the  Author  infers  that  low,  impotent, 
beggarly  men  and  women  had  not  the  strength,  activity,  enter- 
prise, nor  spirit,  to  separate  themselves  from  their  accustomed 
haunts,  their  kindred  and  country,  to  encounter  untried  and  un- 
known difficulties  in  a new  land  beyond  a vast  ocean.  And  that 
the  strong,  the  brave,  the  determined  to  be  free,  must  have  made 
up  the  emigrating  class  from  Europe  to  the  Colonies.  He  shows 
how  the  descendants  of  these  emigrants,  operated  upon  by  the 
desire  of  going  on  bettering  their  condition,  left  the  old  States 


6 


INTRODUCTION. 


to  form  settlements  in  the  new.  IIow  the  Harvies,  Meriwethers, 
Taliaferros,  Gilmers,  Mathewses,  Barnetts,  Crawfords,  Johnsons, 
Jordans,  and  McGeliees  removed,  with  their  families,  from  Vir- 
ginia to  Broad  River  at  different  times  from  1783  to  1790. 
That  they  were  descendants  from  the  most  vigorous  and  indus- 
trious class  of  the  Irish,  Scotch,  English,  and  Welsh,  and  how 
the  Dutch,  French,  and  Italian  blood  added  to  the  crossings  which 
cave  value  to  the  stock.  He  describes  how  these  settlers  formed 
the  most  intimate  friendly  social  union  ever  known  among  the 
same  number  of  persons ; how  exceedingly  active  they  were  in 
business ; economical  in  their  expenditures  ; honest  in  their 
dealings,  and  their  prospering  beyond  example.  He  hopes  that 
though  now  scattered  widely  apart  through  the  southern  and 
southwestern  States,  his  book  may  unite  them  together  once 
more  in  the  kind  feelings  of  kinsfolk. 

The  second  part  describes  the  settlement  made  by  the  North 
Carolina  people  in  that  part  of  Georgia  which  is  now  included 
in  the  counties  of  Wilkes  and  Lincoln.  The  Author  shows  that 
some  of  them  were  prominent  among  the  southern  people  in  their 
struggle  for  independence,,  and  that  many  have  filled  the  highest 
offices  of  the  State  since  that  struggle  ended  successfully.  He 
mentions  as  particularly  distinguished  for  what  they  did,  Clarke, 
Dooly,  Hart,  Jack,  and  Dabney. 

The  third  part  describes  the  Creek  and  Cherokee  Indians  ; 
the  relations  between  them,  Georgia,  and  the  United  States  ; 
the  causes  and  manner  of  their  removal  to  the  west  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi, and  such  incidents  in  the  private  and  public  life  of  the 
Author  as  may  amuse,  or  suggest  to  the  reader  something 
worth  thinking  about. 


G E 0 R G I A N S . 


PART  I. 

The  war  of  the  Revolution  left  the  people  of  Virginia 
penniless  in  purse  and  restless  in  spirit.  They  had 
made  great  exertions  and  sacrifices  to  secure  their  coun- 
try’s independence.  Most  of  their  luxuries,  and  many 
of  their  necessaries,  had  before  the  Revolution  been 
derived  from  abroad  in  exchange  for  their  tobacco. 
The  war  cut  off  commerce.  Virginia  merchants  owned 
but  few  trading  vessels,  and  these  their  country  could 
not  protect  from  capture. 

The  hope  that  great  blessings  would  be  derived 
from  the  right  of  self-government,  stimulated  the  people 
to  make  the  exertions  necessary  to  obtain  it.  When 
the  Independence  of  the  States  was  acknowledged  by 
Great  Britain,  the  advantages  which  the  people  had 
expected  to  follow  were  so  deferred  as  to  appear  for  a 
while  to  be  delusive.  The  capital  with  which  trade 
had  been  carried  on  was  exhausted  by  the  war,  and  it 
required  time  to  create  it  anew.  The  means  of  making 
money  were  obstructed  by  Great  Britain,  through  re- 
strictions upon  the  trade  of  the  States.  The  people, 
immediately  after  the  acquisition  of  national  freedom, 


8 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


had  fewer  of  the  good  things  of  life  than  when  they 
paid  the  stamp-tax.  How  to  improve  their  condition 
was  the  question  which  they  most  anxiously  sought  to 
solve.  The  restless  and  dissatisfied  spirits  of  the  old 
States  found  relief  by  emigrating  to  the  new.  Georgia 
held  out  to  emigrants  very  seductive  offers  of  land. 
The  absence  of  all  undergrowth  in  the  woods,  the  large 
trees,  and  the  luxuriant  grass,  caused  the  most  favorable 
opinion  to  be  formed  of  the  productiveness  of  the  land 
by  the  officers  and  soldiers  who  had  passed  over  it. 

General  Mathews  had  served  in  Georgia  during  the 
war.  He  made  preparations  soon  after  for  removing  to 
a tract  of  land,  then  and  yet  known  as  the  Goosepond, 
a disputed  title  to  which  he  had  purchased  for  a very 
small  consideration.  He  was  well  known  in  Augusta 
and  Albemarle  Counties,  in  Virginia.  Influenced  by 
his  judgment,  Francis  Meriwether,  Benjamin  Taliaferro, 
and  one  or  two  others,  visited  Georgia  in  1784.  They 
went  to  the  neighborhood  of  the  Goosepond,  were 
pleased  with  the  land,  and  purchased.  They  and  many 
of  their  friends  and  relations  removed  to  Georgia  with 
their  families  immediately  afterwards.  They  formed  a 
society  of  the  greatest  intimacy — mutual  wants  making 
the  surest  foundation  for  the  interchange  of  mutual 
kindness. 

The  sketches  of  the  Broad  River  people,  which  fol- 
low, have  been  drawn  chiefly  from  the  author’s  intimate 
social  intercourse  with  his  kinsfolk  and  neighbors.  He 
has  found  but  few  written  documents  to  aid  him  in  his 
work ; some  of  the  biographies  are  therefore  very 
limited.  Those  that  are  most  so,  may  yet  describe 
what  may  be  worth  remembering,  and  which  might 
otherwise  be  unknown  or  forgotten. 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


9 


THE  GILMERS. 

George  Gilmer  was  born  near  Edinburgh,  in  Scot- 
land. After  acquiring  the  usual  fund  of  medical 
knowledge  for  the  commencement  of  practice,  he  went 
to  London,  as  was  the  fashion  then  of  young  Scotch 


10 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


physicians  who  were  eager  for  fame  and  fortune,  where 
he  connected  himself  in  professional  business  with  Dr. 
Ridgway.  Not  long  afterwards,  he  was  employed 
by  the  London  Land  Company  to  go  to  Virginia  to 
manage  the  affairs  of  the  firm.  He  and  the  daughter 
(the  only  child)  of  Dr.  Ridgway  had  been  previously 
interchanging  tender  looks  and  soft  words.  Their  im- 
aginations so  magnified  the  extent  of  the  oceaii  which 
would  separate  them,  and  the  unknown  dangers  of 
the  distant  land,  that  they  could  not  part  without 
being  united  for  life.  They  were  married  privately  in 
the  presence  of  Mrs.  Ridgway.  When  Dr.  Gilmer 
returned  to  London  he  found  his  wife  dead.  Lie  went 
back  to  Virginia,  and  settled  in  Williamsburg,  the 
capital  of  the  colony,  where  he  practised  physic,  and 
supplied  the  people  of  the  colony  with  medicines. 
Dr.  Gilmer’s  second  wife,  Mary  Peachy  Walker,  was 
the  sister  of  Dr.  Thomas  Walker,  a citizen  of  the  col- 
ony, distinguished  by  the  high  offices  which  he  filled, 
and  the  large  estate  which  he  acquired.  After  the 
death  of  his  second  wife,  Dr.  Gilmer  married  Miss 
Harrison  Blair,  the  sister  of  Dr.  Blair,  the  principal 
founder  and  the  first  President  of  William  and  Mary 
College,  the  head  of  the  Episcopal  Church,  and  at  one 
time  acting  Governor  of  the  colony  of  Virginia.  Dr. 
Gilmer  had  lost  his  third  wife,  and  was  engaged  to  be 
married  to  Miss  Ambler  for  his  fourth,  when  he  died. 

Dr.  Gilmer  left  London  for  Williamsburg  in  1731. 
He  died  there  in  1757.  He  left  three  sons,  Peachy 
Ridgway,  and  George,  by  his  second  wife,  and  John 
by  his  third. 

The  copy  of  the  coat-of-arms  given  below,  was  ob- 
tained by  Mr.  Frank  Gilmer,  when  he  was  in  Europe. 
The  gentleman  upon  whom  it  was  conferred,  was  cer- 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


11 


tainly  not  an  ancestor  of  any  of  the  Gilmers  of  Virginia 
on  Broad  Biver.  Their  relationship  to  him  must  there- 
fore have  been  very  distant,  if  any  at  all.  It  is  inserted 
here  to  gratify  those  who  may  be  curious  to  know  some- 
thing of  heraldry,  about  which  so  much  is  written  in 
modern  times. 


Extract  from  the  Register  of  Armorial  Bearings  for  Scotland. 

“ The  right  worshipful  Sir  Charles  Gilmer,  of  Craig  Miller, 
Baronet,  bears  azure,  a cheveron,  between  two  fleur  de  lis  in 
chief  or ; and  in  base,  a writing  pen,  full  feathered  argent,  with 
the  badge  of  Nova  Scotia  as  Baronet.  Crest,  a garland  of  laurel 
proper.  Motto,  ‘ Perseveranti  dabitur.’  Matriculated  18th 
Dec.,  1735.” 


12 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


Copied  from  the  family  Bible  of  Dr.  George  Gilmer, 
my  great-grandfather,  now  in  my  possession : 

“Mary  Peachy  Walker,  daughter  of  Thomas  and  Susan 
Walker,  of  King  and  Queen,  was  married  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Jno. 
Skaife,  at  his  house,  her  Stepfather,  to  George  Gilmer,  May 
13th,  1732.” 

“March  6th,  1737-8.  A son  born,  christened  the  20tli  by 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Hith,  by  the  name  of  Peachy  Ridgway,  Maj. 
Nicholas  and  William  Prentis,  Godfathers,  and  Miss  Robertson, 
Godmother- — now  Mrs.  Lidderdale.” 

“ Jan.  19th,  1742-3.  A son  born,  christened  the  30th  inst. 
by  Mr.  Thomas  Dawson,  George.  Walter  King  (and  Jms.  Har- 
mer  by  proxy)  Godfathers,  Miss  Elizabeth  Pratt,  Godmother — 
afterwards  Mrs.  King.” 

“ October  1st,  1745.  Mary  Peachy  Gilmer,  the  mother  of  the 
above  dear  children,  after  a severe  but  short  fit  of  sickness,  de- 
parted this  life  to  the  great  loss  of  her  said  children,  but  more 
immediately  to  her  Husband,  who  had  experienced  her  Christian 
life  and  fondness  for  him.” 

“ Dec.  11th,  1745.  George  Gilmer  was  married  to  Miss  Har- 
rison Blair,  at  her  Brother’s,  the  Plon.  Jno.  Blair,  by  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Thomas  Dawson,  Rector  of  Bratoro,  in  Williamsburg.” 

“ April  26th,  1748.  Mrs.  Gilmer  brought  to  bed  of  a son, 
between  six  and  seven  in  the  morning.  27th.  Was  christened 
by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Thomas  Dawson,  by  the  name  of  John.  The 
Hon.  Jno.  Blair  and  Mr.  John  Blair,  Godfathers,  and  Mrs.  Blair, 
Godmother. — God  preserve  him.” 

“May  22d,  1753.  Mrs.  Gilmer  delivered  of  a Boy,  about  five 
o’clock  in  the  morning ; apprehending  danger,  had  him  chris- 
tened in  the  afternoon,  by  the  name  of  William,  my  Father’s 
name.  Armstead  Burwell  and  John  Holt,  Mayor,  Godfathers ; 
Miss  Sally  Blair,  Godmother.  This  poor  babe  died  the  30th, 
and  was  buried  the  31st,  by  the  Commissary,  in  a grave  so  close 
to  my  dear  former  wife  that  his  coffin  touched  hers.” 

“ Nov.  2d,  1755.  Mrs.  Gilmer,  after  a severe  and  long  pain- 
ful illness,  departed  this  life,  Sunday  evening,  between  8 and  9.’’ 
“ Dr.  George  Gilmer  departed  this  life,  Jan.  15th,  1757.” 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


13 


Peachy  Ridgway  Gilmer,  the  oldest  son  of  Dr. 
George  Gilmer,  of  Williamsburg,  was  blunt  spoken, 
open-hearted,  and  careless  about  the  accumulation  of 
riches.  He  accompanied  Frank  Meriwether,  his  college 
crony,  to  Albemarle,  when  Bracldock’s  expedition 
against  the  French  and  Indians  suspended  for  a while 
William  and  Mary  College.  Whilst  at  Frank  Meri- 
wether’s home,  he  and  Frank’s  sister,  Mary,  fancied  each 
other,  and  married.  The  Meriwethers  were  then,  as 
they  are  now,  plain  people  in  manners  and  dress. 
Peachy  Gilmer,  from  being  the  most  dashing  beau  of 
the  metropolis  of  the  colony,  became  as  unpretending 
in  his  appearance  and  manners  as  any  of  his  new  rela- 
tions. To  make  his  home  accord  with  this  change,  he 
settled  in  Rockingham,  in  the  midst  of  the  Dutch,  at  a 
place  still  called  Lethe,  from  the  forgetfulness  of  care 
by  its  owner  and  his  numerous  Low  Country  visitors. 
He  lived  to  old  age,  without  troubling  himself  about 
any  thing.  The  Lethe  tract  of  land  was  large  and  fer- 
tile. He  had  many  negroes,  kejA  fat  horses  and  cattle, 
and  lived  bountifully  upon  the  products  of  his  farm, 
selling  only  what  was  sufficient  to  pay  his  taxes,  and 
buy  sugar  and  coffee  in  the  small  quantities  then  used. 
His  wife  was  a most  notable  housekeeper,  managed  the 
children  and  servants,  made  their  clothing,  and  provid- 
ed furniture  for  the  house.  Peachy  Gilmer’s  unruffled 
temper,  frank  manners,  and  unrestricted  hospitality, 
made  his  house  the  collecting-place  of  old  and  young, 
who  were  fond  of  frolic  and  fun.  He  was  his  father’s 
executor,  and  so  negligent  in  collecting  the  debts  of  th 
estate,  that  large  sums  were  never  collected  at  all. 

Peachy  R.  Gilmer  had  two  sons,  Thomas  Meriwether 
and  George,  and  four  daughters,  Mary  Peachy,  Elizabeth 
Thornton,  Lucy,  and  Frances  Walker. 


14 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


Thomas  M.  married  Elizabeth  Lewis  before  he  was 
twenty-one.  He  removed  to  Georgia,  the  year  after, 
and  settled  on  Broad  River,  at  the  place  marked  on  the 
map  as  his.  Tie  had  small  hands  and  feet,  his  features 
were  regular,  his  head  large,  his  nose  straight  and  well- 
formed,  his  eyes  very  gray,  and  his  teeth  good.  He 
was  somewhat  under  the  common  height.  His  frame  of 
body  was  small,  and  his  limbs  of  proper  proportions 
and  much  muscular  strength.  He  was  very  fat  from 
childhood,  weighing  at  eighteen  two  hundred  pounds. 
He  floated  on  water  without  any  effort  except  straight- 
ening his  legs.  The  school  to  which  he  went  when  a 
boy,  was  up  the  Shenandoah  River,  a mile  or  two  from 
his  father’s.  During  the  summer  months  he  went  home 
by  floating  and  swimming  down  the  river,  to  save  him- 
self from  walking.  The  current  of  the  river  was  so 
continued  and  strong  that  he  could  easily  outstrip  the 
usual  speed  of  his  school  companions.  He  was  insensi- 
ble to  cold,  but  could  not  bear  heat.  The  doors  of  his 
house  were  never  closed  day  or  night,  summer  or  win- 
ter. He  continued  to  grow  more  and  more  corpulent, 
until  he  weighed  upwards  of  three  hundred  pounds. 
He  was  an  excellent  rider,  sitting  his  horse  so  easily 
that  few  men  could  ride  as  far  in  the  day.  Though  he 
never  worked  himself,  he  impressed  the  habit  very 
strongly  upon  his  children  and  negroes.  He  had  gov- 
erning manners  and  temper,  so  that  his  children  never 
disobeyed  him.  He  managed  all  his  affairs  with  ad- 
mirable judgment.  He  had  eight  negroes,  a small  tract 
of  land,  and  some  money,  when  he  settled  on  Broad 
River.  He  left  at  his  death  an  estate  of  near  seventy 
negroes,  a large  tract  of  land,  a considerable  sum  of 
money,  a large  amount  in  notes  due  him,  besides  having 
previously  provided  liberally  for  his  children  who  were 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


15 


married.  The  estates  which  they  have  accumulated 
are  equal  together  at  this  time  to  more  than  a million 
of  dollars.  They  are  all  planters  except  one.  The 
lawyer  and  politician  is  the  poorest  of  them  all. 
Thomas  Gilmer  was  a man  of  good  sense,  aided  hut  lit- 
tle by  reading.  He  was  punctual  in  the  discharge  of 
every  requirement  of  law.  He  attended  musters  and 
juries,  though  at  great  inconvenience.  He  wras  a justice 
of  the  peace  for  some  time,  and  was  once  elected  a 
member  of  the  legislature.  He  was  trustful  and  up- 
right. I have  often  heard  him  mention  that  he  never 
but  once  loaned  money  at  more  than  the  legal  interest. 
He  was  induced  to  do  so  then  by  the  borrower  being  a 
negro  trader.  The  mistake  was  corrected  by  the  diffi- 
culty he  met  with  in  collecting  any  part  of  the  loan. 
He  never  suffered  his  children  to  harass  or  hunt  birds 
or  beasts.  I recollect  a cousin,  who  was  about  my  own 
age,  instructing  me  during  the  idleness  of  Sunday  how 
to  prepare  a chicken-cock  for  fighting  by  cutting  off  his 
comb.  My  father  finding  out  our  employment,  took 
me  between  his  knees,  and  pulled  my  own  comb  until 
I scarcely  knew  whether  the  crown  of  my  head  had  hair 
left  upon  it. 

He  bought  what  he  wanted,  and  sold  what  he 
wished  to  part  with.  He  had  a great  dislike  to  chaffer- 
ing and  swopping,  considering  that  the  habit  of  such 
trading  generally  ended  in  the  habit  of  lying.  He  ex- 
pressed his  thoughts  and  purposes  without  equivocation. 
He  had  great  contempt  for  foppery  of  all  sorts.  When 
I first  went  abroad  to  school,  I found  most  of  the  boys 
occasionally  wearing  fine  clothes,  and  expressed  to  him 
on  my  return  home,  my  desire  to  do  as  they  did.  His 
answer  was,  that  boys  neither  learned  more  nor  were 
less  wicked  by  being  dressed  fine ; that  when  I grew 


16 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


up,  it  would  be  well  enough  to  attend  to  dress,  because 
it  would  influence  many  persons’  opinion  of  me,  and 
thereby  increase  my  capacity  for  usefulness.  After  go- 
ing through  school  without  shoes  in  the  summer,  or  a 
broadcloth  coat  at  any  time,  I was  immediately,  upon 
quitting,  dressed  in  the  very  best  which  hi*  merchant’s 
store  could  supply. 

During  his  youth,  he  performed  a tour  of  militia 
duty  under  the  Marquis  La  Fayette.  He  had  previous- 
ly gone  out  with  a militia  company  to  disperse  or  make 
prisoners  of  some  Tories,  who  occasionally  met  in  the 
North  Mountain.  The  company  caught  a Tory,  or, 
what  was  the  same  to  the  prisoner,  one  suspected  by 
the  Whigs.  He  was  carried  to  a distillery,  underwent 
examination,  and  was  punished  by  being  put  head  fore- 
most into  a large  hogshead  of  water.  He  kicked  his 
feet  free  from  those  who  held  him,  and  was  about 
drowning  in  the  confused  and  failing  efforts  to  draw 
him  out,  when  a half-witted  fellow  standing  by,  turned 
over  the  hogshead,  letting  out  the  Tory  and  the  water. 

My  father  was  temperate  in  the  use  of  all  liquors 
except  water.  He  was  never  even  slightly  intoxicated 
but  once,  and  that  was  when  he  was  a boy.  Like  most 
of  the  Gilmers,  he  loved  good  eating.  He  was  subject 
to  violent  attacks  of  fever.  At  one  time  his  physician 
thought  it  absolutely  necessary  to  take  blood  from  him. 
No  vein  could  be  found.  The  temple  artery  was  cut. 
He  had  a violent  cough,  which,  whenever  he  lay  down, 
threw  off  the  pressure  from  the  artery,  and  covered  the 
room  with  blood  before  the  pressure  could  be  reapplied. 
He  was  compelled  to  sit  up  in  a chair  for  six  or  seven 
weeks,  sleeping  when  he  could  by  leaniug  his  head 
upon  a table  before  him.  He  died  July,  1817,  at  his 
residence  on  Broad  River.  He  was  a member  of  the 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


17 


Methodist  Church  from  1S09  until  his  death.  He  left 
a widow  and  nine  children. 

Elizabeth  Lewis,  the  wrife  of  Thomas  M.  Gilmer, 
was  the  daughter  of  Thomas  Lewis  and  Jane  Strother. 
She  has  now  passed  her  89th  year,  and  been  a widow 
more  than  thirty-five.  Her  ceaseless  industry  and  un- 
tiring care  have  aided  to  make  her  children  rich.  She 
still  enjoys  the  good  things  of  life  with  a pleasant  relish. 
She  has  endured  its  evils  with  unfailing  patience.  Ma- 
lice and  envy  seem  never  to  have  found  a resting-place 
with  her  for  a moment.  Cheerfulness  constantly  shines 
in  her  face,  and  is  heard  in  her  voice.  Her  gentle  spirit 
never  reproaches.  Necessity  alone  limits  the  extent  of 
her  kindness.  Charity  covers  the  faults  of  others  from 
her  sight,  whilst  gratitude  is  ever  filling  her  heart  for 
forgiveness  of  her  own. 

Peachy  Pidgway,  the  oldest  son  of  Thomas  Gil- 
mer, is  social,  hospitable,  and  free-spoken,  like  his  grand- 
father, after  whom  he  was  named,  with  the  industrious 
habits  which  the  necessities  of  a new  country  and  his 
father’s  control  forced  upon  him.  He  is  the  best  rider, 
the  best  shot,  and  most  successful  hunter  of  the  country. 
He  married  Mary  Boutwell,  daughter  of  Daniel  Hafvie, 
of  Broad  River — a guileless,  pretty,  modest  woman, 
whom  it  was  impossible  to  know  and  not  to  love.  Af- 
ter her  death,  he  married  Mrs.  Caroline  Thomas,  wrhose 
goodness  made  her  a suitable  successor  to  his  first  wife. 
He  has  lost  all  his  children,  except  his  youngest  daugh- 
ter, the  widow  of  Dr.  Grattan.  He  is  a capital  planter, 
and  has  acquired  great  wealth.  His  present  residence 
is  in  the  State  of  Alabama,  near  the  City  of  Mont- 
gomery. 

Mary  Meriwether,  the  oldest  daughter,  is  a wo- 
man of  good  capacity.  She  married  successively  two 


18 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


very  indolent,  inefficient  men,  whom  by  lier  industry 
she  saved  from  poverty.  The  first  was  Warner  Talia- 
ferro, brother  of  Col.  Benjamin  Taliaferro ; the  second, 
Nicholas  Powers,  a handsome  Irishman.  She  is  now  a 
widow  with  ten  children — four  by  her  first  husband, 
and  six  by  her  last. 

Thomas  Lewis,  the  second  son,  is  a frugal,  industri- 
ous planter.  He  was  well  educated,  and  had  com- 
menced the  study  of  medicine,  when  he  found  Nancy 
Harvie  more  attractive  than  the  doctor’s  shop.  She 
was  not  very  pretty  in  the  eyes  of  others,  but  all  agreed 
with  her  husband  that  she  made  a good  wife.  Since 
her  death,  he  has  recently  married  Mrs.  Anne  Harper. 
He  has  six  children. 

George  Rockingham,  the  third  son,  married  Eliza 
Frances  Grattan.  Though  he  has  had  no  children,  he 
is  as  happy  as  any  man  ever  was  wdio  had.  His  resi- 
dence is  within  twenty  miles  of  where  he  was  born. 
He  hopes  to  have  the  pleasure  of  giving  in  this  book 
some  further  particulars  of  his  wife  and  himself. 

John,  the  fourth  son,  is  clear-headed,  sharp-witted, 
attentive  to  his  interests,  and  thriving:.  He  married 
Lucy  Johnson,  the  daughter  of  Col.  Nicholas  Johnson, 
of  Broad  River.  She  was  very  pretty,  and  acted  her 
part  well  as  a wife.  After  her  death,  he  married  Mrs. 
Susan  Gresham,  the  daughter  of  Mr.  Joel  Barnett,  a 
sensible,  economical  woman.  He  is  very  wealthy.  He 
resides  in  Mississippi,  not  far  from  the  town  of  Colum- 
bus. He  has  three  children  by  his  first  wife,  and  four 
by  his  last. 

William  Benjamin  Strother,  the  fifth  son,  is  a 
judicious  planter,  and  a very  kind,  good  man.  He  is 
very  wealthy,  and  gives  his  money  freely  to  his  kin, 
and  those  who  need  his  assistance.  He  takes  special 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


19 


delight  in  educating  poor,  clever  young  ladies,  and  giving 
them  such  other  advantages  as  may  add  to  their  useful- 
ness and  success  in  life.  He  married  Elizabeth  Marks, 
the  daughter  of  Meriwether  Marks,  and  great  grand- 
daughter of  Gov.  Mathews.  He  resides  in  Alabama, 
near  West  Point,  in  Georgia. 

Charles  Lewis,  sixth  son,  is  kind,  truthful,  and 
honest.  He  has  been  all  his  life  devoted  to  books,  but 
has  not  yet  learned  to  be  wise  in  the  ways  of  the  world. 
He  never  cheats,  but  has  been  very  often  cheated.  He 
does  not  believe  in  the  maxim,  “ fallitur  fallentem  non 
est  fraus."’  Fortunately,  his  brother  William  has  always 
taken  special  concern  in  his  moneyed  affairs.  When 
the  receipts  of  the  year  are  not  ecpial  to  his  expendi- 
tures, William  usually  squares  them.  He  married  Miss 
Nancy  Marks,  and  after  her  death,  Mrs.  Matilda  Kyle. 
The  first  was  modest  and  unjDretending,  and  the  last  is 
yet  acting  her  most  difficult  part  in  the  most  exemplary 
way.  Fie  has  six  sons  and  one  daughter  by  his  first 
wife,  and  two  sons  by  his  last.  He  resides  in  the  City 
of  Montgomery,  Alabama, 

Lucy  Ann  Sophia,  the  second  daughter,  is  a most 
notable  housekeeper,  a very  loving  wife,  fond  mother, 
and  efficient  member  of  society.  FXer  husband,  B.  S. 
Bibb,  of  Montgomery,  Alabama,  the  present  senator 
of  that  county,  is  a gentleman  of  wealth  and  great  re- 
spectability. They  have  five  children.  One  of  their 
daughters  married  a descendant  of  the  Indian  Princess, 
Pocahontas. 

James  Jackson,  the  seventh  son,  was  named  after 
General  Jackson,  of  Georgia,  whom  every  body  admit- 
ted to  be  a brave  man  and  devoted  patriot.  This 
youngest  son  missed  the  training  to  work  which  his 
brothers  received,  and  yet  has  escaped  the  spendthrift 


20 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


habits  which  usually  follow  idleness.  He  is  a success- 
ful planter,  and  one  of  the  wealthy  men  of  Alabama. 
He  married  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Reuben  Jordan,  a 
descendant  of  the  Indian  Princess,  Pocahontas.  They 
have  five  children. 

George,  the  second  son  of  Peachy  Ridgway  Gil- 
mer, had  regular  features,  and  an  erect,  perfectly-formed 
person.  His  father  never  sent  him  from  home  to  school, 
or  to  mix  in  society.  His  modest  diffidence  was  never 
worn  off.  He  sought  for  a wife  only  among  his  cousins, 
because  they  were  free  in  their  intercourse  with  him. 
They  happened  always  to  be  engaged.  His  under- 
standing was  capable  of  great  things ; but  its  exercise 
was  confined  to  a very  limited  circle  of  observation. 
His  discernment  was  quick  and  clear,  and  his  judgment 
unequalled  for  correct  conclusions  upon  all  matters 
within  his  examination.  His  temper  and  feelings  were 
as  simple,  sincere,  and  affectionate  as  a child’s.  He 
never  bought  or  sold  for  profit.  He  inherited  the 
valuable  Lethe  land,  upon  which  he  lived,  spending  its 
products  in  hospitality  and  kindness,  without  seeking 
or  making  any  accumulation.  His  truthfulness  and  in- 
tegrity were  never  doubted.  His  kindness  to  his 
negroes  was  without  limit.  His  man,  “ Great  Billy,” 
owned  three  horses  through  his  master’s  means.  After 
“ Great  Billy  ” lost  his  first  wife,  he  courted  a young- 
girl  at  Lethe,  and  tempted  her  to  marry  him,  by  offer- 
ing to  keep  a gig  for  her  to  ride  in.  When  he  died,  his 
master  sold  his  horses,  and  paid  the  proceeds  of  the 
sale,  amounting  to  between  tsvo  and  three  hundred 
dollars,  to  Great  Lilly’s  children,  the  negroes  of  a 
neighbor.  Sterne’s  description  of  Uncle  Toby  was 
realized  in  my  uncle  George’s  character.  Not  a fly 
ever  perished  by  his  thoughtlessness  or  cruelty.  Lor 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


21 


the  last  twenty  years  of  his  life,  he  rode  a noble  horse 
of  his  own  raisins;.  Sorrel  never  was  in  harness.  He 
carried  his  master  wherever  he  went,  especially  once  a 
week  during  the  summer  months  across  the  Shenandoah 
River,  to  the  top  of  the  Blue  Ridge  Mountain,  where 
he  salted  his  cattle.  Sorrel  was  never  known  to  leave 
him,  though  often  left  without  confinement.  When  his 
master  died,  Sorrel  was  carried  from  Lethe  to  Major 
Grattan’s,  where  he  continued  to  be  served  by  Major 
Grattan’s  children  as  if  he  were  akin  to  them.  None 
but  the  youngest  were  ever  put  upon  his  back.  When 
they  were,  he  would  walk  about  with  as  much  care  as 
if  he  knew  the  preciousness  of  wrhat  he  carried.  Occa- 
sionally he  would  leave  his  pasture,  and  go  to  Lethe,  as 
if  in  search  of  something  he  had  lost.  He  was  always 
sent  for  as  soon  as  missed,  lest  he  should  suffer  for  the 
want  of  food.  Sorrel  lived  to  be  thirty-seven  years  old. 
When  he  died,  he  was  buried  with  the  greatest  affection 
by  Major  Grattan’s  children  and  grandchildren,  as  if 
he  had  been  the  last  remnant  of  their  good  uncle. 

George  Gilmer  continued  to  indulge  his  negroes  as 
long  as  he  lived.  During  the  last  years  of  his  life  he 
was  unable  to  attend  to  his  farm.  His  negroes  were  so 
idle  that  he  was  obliged  to  buy  corn  and  meat  to  feed 
them.  He  died  a bachelor  beyond  seventy  years,  with- 
out having  been  once  drunk,  or  done  one  act  of  stin- 
giness. 

Mary  Peachy,  the  oldest  daughter  of  Peachy  R. 
Gilmer,  was  a round-faced,  full-personed,  black-eyed 
brunette.  Pier  cheerfulness,  unaffected  simplicity,  kind 
manners,  and  affectionate  temper,  made  her  a universal 
favorite.  Her  want  of  guile  was  beyond  the  belief  of 
the  bad.  She  loved  father,  mother,  brothers,  sisters, 
uncles,  aunts,  and  cousins,  so  much,  that  there  was  no 


22 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


spare  place  in  her  heart  for  suitors.  She  was  more 
courted  than  any  young  lady  of  the  country.  Andrew 
Lewis  loved  her  from  her  youth  to  his  death.  He  lost 
an  arm  whilst  he  was  an  officer  under  General  Wayne, 
in  his  campaigns  against  the  western  Indians,  where  he 
also  confirmed  his  habit  of  drinking  whiskey,  which  he 
had  formed  when  young.  He  was  intelligent,  and 
would  have  been  handsome  but  for  his  want  of  an  arm. 
He  had  too  much  respect  for  Peachy  Gilmer,  when  so- 
ber, to  ask  her  to  marry  him.  He  never  failed  pressing 
her  to  do  so  if  he  saw  her  when  drunk. 

Peachy  Gilmer  had  neither  the  taste  nor  capacity 
for  investigating  sectarian  controversies.  She  was  by 
inheritance  an  Episcopalian.  When  she  died,  she  left 
part  of  her  estate  to  build  a church  in  Mississippi,  for 
the  special  use  of  the  Episcopalians. 

Elizabeth  Thornton,  the  second  daughter  of  Peachy 
R.  Gilmer,  married  Major  Robert  Grattan.  She  is 
described  elsewhere. 

Lucy,  the  third  daughter  of  Peachy  R.  Gilmer,  was 
clear-minded,  strong-willed,  and  high-principled.  She 
was  not  handsome.  She  was  seldom  courted  wThen 
young.  When  she  was  beyond  thirty,  she  met  Burton 
Taliaferro,  a handsome,  agreeable  man,  who  pressed  her 
with  such  an  appearance  of  earnest  love  to  marry  him. 
that  her  heart  yielded  before  her  judgment  was  in- 
formed. He  was  known  by  her  friends  to  be  such  a 
selfish,  profligate  fellow,  that  when  she  told  her  sister 
Peachy  that  she  intended  to  marry  him,  she  fell  faint- 
ing at  her  feet.  Upon  being  convinced  of  his  unworthi- 
ness, she  rejected  him.  But  the  effort  came  near  tak- 
ing her  life.  When  I went  to  Virginia  three  years 
after,  I found  my  aunt  but  a shadow  of  what  she  had 
been.  She  ventured  one  day,  when  wm  were  alone,  to 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


23 


ask  me  what  had  become  of  Burton  Taliaferro  ? I told 
her  that,  immediately  after  his  visit  to  Lethe,  he  had 
married  an  old  maiden  miser,  and  that  before  their 
marriage,  she  had  secured  her  property  to  her  own  use, 
permitting  her  husband  to  have  only  sufficient  for  good 
eating,  drinking,  and  dressing,  and  that  his  appearance, 
when  I had  seen  him  a short  time  before,  indicated  that 
he  would  soon  eat  and  drink  himself  to  death.  My 
aunt  made  no  comments  upon  my  information.  She 
gradually  recovered  her  health  from  that  time.  It  was 
long,  however,  before  she  ceased  to  remember  unpleas- 
antly those  who  had  opposed  her  will  to  marry  Burton 
Taliaferro.  Her  affection  for  Major  Grattan  and  his 
family  had  always  been  very  great.  It  became  more 
and  more  engrossing,  until  she  almost  ceased  to  care  for 
any  body  else  after  the  death  of  her  brother  George. 
She  loved  her  niece,  Lucy  Grattan,  as  if  she  had  been 
her  own  child — petting  her,  and  doing  whatever  she 
could  to  please  her  as  long  as  she  lived. 

The  last  years  of  Lucy  Gilmer’s  life  were  passed  in 
great  bodily  suffering.  The  consolations  of  religion,  the 
devoted  love  of  her  niece,  Lucy  Grattan  (now  Mrs.  Dr, 
Harris),  the  never-tiring  patience  and  care  of  Robert 
Grattan  and  his  admirable  wife,  and  the  affection  of 
their  children,  made  the  last  years  of  my  aunt  as  toler- 
able as  possible. 

Frances  Walker,  the  fourth  daughter  of  Peachy  R, 
Gilmer,  was  ten  years  younger  than  the  nest  youngest 
child.  She  was  the  petted  and  humored  one  of  her 
family.  She  married  Richard  Taliaferro.  They  had 
seven  children.  Their  daughter  Elizabeth  married 
Gov.  Brown,  of  Mississippi,  now  Senator  in  Congress 
from  that  State.  They  are  all  dead  but  one,  Mrs.  Mary 
Adams,  of  Mississippi. 


24 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


Richard  Taliaferro  was  near  six  feet  high,  full  and 
well-proportioned,  with  black  curling  hair,  handsome 
features,  easy,  graceful  manners,  and  an  abundant  sup- 
ply of  agreeable  chit-chat.  He  belonged  to  an  Italian 
family,  who  were  famous  for  fighting  in  the  times  of 
chivalry.  Richard  Taliaferro  was  the  relation  of  Presi- 
dent Monroe,  and  connected  by  marriage  with  Presi- 
dent Madison,  and,  through  Achille  Murat,  with  the 
Emperor  Napoleon  Bonaparte, 

George  Gilmer,  the  second  son  of  Dr.  George  Gil- 
mer, of  Williamsburg,  availed  himself  fully  of  the 
advantages  afforded  by  William  and  Mary  College, 
then  the  best  classical  school  in  the  colonies.  He 
studied  medicine  with  his  uncle,  Dr.  Thomas  Walker, 
and  afterwards  attended  the  Medical  College  in  Edin- 
burgh. He  married  his  first  cousin,  the  daughter  of 
Dr.  Walker.  He  practised  his  profession  for  some  time 
in  Charlottesville,  and  afterwards  at  Penpark,  his  resi- 
dence in  the  country.  His  reputation  as  a physician 
was  unsurpassed.  His  habit  was  to  devote  himself  ex- 
clusively to  each  case  of  doubtful  issue  until  its  termi- 
nation. A father  once  left  a child  under  his  care  so 
hopelessly  ill,  that  upon  meeting  the  doctor  before  he 
got  home,  he  asked  how  long  his  child  had  lingered  be- 
fore its  death,  and  was  told  to  his  astonishment  that  he 
had  recovered.  Dr.  Gilmer’s  temper  was  ardent,  his 
habits  social,  and  his  taste  literary.  He  was  occasion- 
ally called  upon  to  speak  during  the  revolutionary 
war,  and  the  first  formation  of  parties  under  the  Con- 
stitution. The  old  people  who  remember  these  ad- 
dresses, report  them  to  have  been  unequalled  in  elo- 
quence. He  was  the  neighbor  and  intimate  friend  of 
Mr.  Jefferson,  and  a decided  republican  in  politics.  He 
loved  conversation  and  good  eating,  and  died  of  para- 
lysis. He  left  a numerous  family  of  children. 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


25 


Walker,  the  oldest  son  of  Dr.  George  Gilmer,  studied 
medicine  with  his  father,  and  attended  the  medical  col- 
lege in  Edinburgh.  His  extraordinary  genius  and  ac- 
quirements were  exciting  in  his  friends  the  most  flatter- 
ing hopes  of  his  future  greatness  when  he  died. 

Peachy  Ridgway,  the  secoud  son,  was  a lawyer, 
and  remarkable  for  agreeable  conversation  and  social 
habits.  He  married  the  niece  of  Mrs.  Trist,  the  friend 
and  correspondent  of  Mr.  Jefferson,  whose  grandson 
was  lately  United  States  Commissioner  to  Mexico. 
Peachy  R.  Gilmer  loved  good  eating,  like  his  father, 
and  like  him  died  of  paralysis.  His  daughter  Emma,  a 
very  charming  young  lady,  married  a son  of  General 
Brackenridge.  AVilliam,  his  oldest  son,  is  unrivalled  as 
a wit.  His  son  George  is  one  of  the  Judges  of  the  Cir- 
cuit  Court  of  Virginia,  and  a man  of  very  great  worth. 

George  Gilmer,  the  third  son,  was  the  only  male 
member  of  Dr.  Gilmer’s  family  who  was  not  distin- 
guished for  talents.  He  was  a man  of  truth  and  prob- 
ity, of  unrivalled  amenity  of  manners,  and  great  kind- 
ness. He  married  Miss  Hudson,  whose  taste,  cultivation, 
superior  intellect  and  piety,  made  her  an  admirable 
mother  to  fit  sous  for  usefulness  and  greatness. 

Thomas  Walker,  the  oldest  son  of  George  Gilmer, 
entered  upon  the  business  of  life  without  the  advantages 
of  wealth  or  thorough  education.  He  labored  however 
with  his  might,  after  the  best  ends,  by  the  best  means 
he  could  command.  His  success  proved  that  his  talents 
were  equal  to  his  energy.  Plis  profession  was  the  law. 
Whilst  engaged  in  practice,  he  edited  a newspaper.  He 
assailed  what  was  wrong  with  such  hearty,  vigorous 
blows,  that  he  brought  upon  himself  the  violent  enmity 
of  the  bad,  and  had  to  fight  for  his  life.  As  soon  as  his 
merits  became  publicly  known,  the  people  of  Albe- 


26 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


marie  (the  comity  of  his  birth  and  residence)  chose 
him  for  their  representative  in  the  State  Legislature. 
His  industry  and  eloquence  soon  made  him  the  most 
prominently  useful  member  of  the  house  in  which  he 
served.  He  was  elected  its  Speaker.  Each  ascent 
showed  more  and  more  obviously  his  fitness  for  elevated 
station.  He  was  made  Governor  of  the  State.  His 
duty  required  him  to  enforce  the  rights  of  the  citizens 
of  Virginia  against  violators  in  other  States.  He  made 
a demand  of  the  Governor  of  Hew  York  for  the  deliv- 
ery up  of  a fugitive  slave,  wdio  declined  doing  what 
the  Constitution  and  his  official  oath  required  him  to 
do — cloaking  his  refusal  under  the  mantle  of  conscience 
— a covering  ivliicli  the  dishonest  find  but  little  diffi- 
culty in  stretching  to  suit  their  wicked  purposes. 
Walker  Gilmer  advised  the  Legislature  to  retaliate 
upon  the  citizens  of  New  York,  until  justice  should  be 
done  to  the  citizens  of  Virginia.  The  Legislature  de- 
clined following  the  advice.  He  resigned.  Lie  was 
soon  after  elected  a member  of  Congress,  and  was 
shortly  afterwards  appointed  by  the  President  of  the 
United  States  Secretary  of  the  Navy.  Whilst  he  was 
attending  to  his  official  duty,  by  endeavoring  to  increase 
the  efficiency  of  the  navy,  he  lost  his  life  by  the  burst- 
ing of  a cannon. 

He  was  eminently  suited  for  public  station,  and  still 
more  so  for  the  walks  of  private  life.  He  was  the  staff 
of  his  father,  and  the  joy  of  his  mother.  He  sought  a 
wife  who  could  think,  feel,  and  act  with  him  and  for 
him.  He  found  her  without  fortune,  but  above  all 
price.  He  died  in  the  prime  of  life.  What  his  in- 
domitable energy  would  have  done,  strengthened  and 
directed  as  it  was  by  purity  of  purpose,  and  clear, 
strong,  vigorous  intellect,  none  can  say.  Judging  by 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


27 


what  lie  did,  lie  would,  if  lie  liad  lived,  have  been  the 
first  man  of  his  country,  as  he  was  of  his  name. 

A gentleman  walking  on  the  banks  of  the  Potomac 
River,  early  on  a Sunday  morning,  whilst  W alker  Gil- 
mer was  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  saw  a crowd  standing 
with  their  hats  off,  listening  most  attentively.  Ap- 
proaching, he  found  Walker  Gilmer  on  his  knees,  pray- 
ing with  the  fishermen. 

John,  the  fourth  son  of  Dr.  Gilmer,  was  silent  and 
reserved  in  manners,  of  good  understanding,  and  excel- 
lent character.  He  was  a physician.  Pie  married  Miss 
Minor.  His  daughter  Lucy,  his  only  child  now  living, 
is  married  to  Mr.  Frank  Minor,  her  first  cousin. 

James  and  Harmer,  the  fifth  and  sixth  sons  of  Dr. 
Gilmer,  were  clever  and  talented.  Both  died  young 
and  unmarried. 

Frank,  the  youngest  son,  was  the  most  talented  of 
this  talented  family.  His  genius,  extraordinary  capa- 
city, great  industry,  sober  habits,  and  ambition,  would 
have  made  him  one  of  the  most  distinguished  of  his 
countrymen,  if  his  life  had  been  spared  long  enough. 
He  wrote  one  or  two  numbers  of  “The  Old  Bachelor,” 
several  articles  in  the  Virginia  Evangelical  Magazine, 
and  published  a volume  of  essays  whilst  he  was  yet  a 
youth.  He  was  an  enthusiastic  admirer  of  John  Ran- 
dolph’s elocpience.  He  used  to  leave  his  school  in 
Georgetown,  when  a boy,  to  listen  to  Mr.  Randolph 
whenever  he  knew  that  he  was  about  to  speak.  The 
peculiar  thoughts,  and  emphatic  manner  of  expressing 
them  by  the  orator,  made  so  ineffaceable  an  impression 
upon  him,  that  he  could  repeat  whatever  he  heard  from 
him  in  his  own  words.  He  studied  law  with  Mr.  Wirt, 
his  brother-in-law,  and  continued  through  life  upon  the 
most  intimate  terms  with  him.  His  love  of  science  was 


28 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


as  great  as  liis  devotion  to  literature.  He  travelled 
through  the  Western  and  Southern  States  in  company 
with  the  Abbe  Couria,  when  a young  man,  that  he 
might  be  assisted  in  his  investigations  by  the  learning 
of  that  great  naturalist.  When  the  University  of  Vir- 
ginia was  about  going  into  operation,  he  was  employed 
by  Mr.  Jefferson  and  its  Board  of  Trustees,  to  go  to 
Europe  and  select  its  professors.  As  he  returned  home, 
after  executing  his  commission  very  satisfactorily,  he 
suffered  so  much  from  a violent  storm,  to  which  the 
vessel  in  which  he  sailed  was  exposed,  that  his  health 
was  wrecked  though  the  vessel  was  saved.  He  was 
appointed  Law  Professor  of  the  University,  but  died 
before  he  commenced  the  discharge  of  his  duties. 

Dr.  Gilmer’s  daughter,  Mildred,  was  a cheerful, 
frank,  sensible  woman.  She  married  William  Wirt, 
whose  glossy  curling  hair,  fine  person,  and  expressive 
features,  made  him  one  of  the  handsomest  of  men  ; — 
whose  clear,  strong,  melodious  voice,  extraordinary 
taste,  and  admirable  execution  in  music,  ready  wit, 
humor,  and  hilarity,  made  him  the  most  charming  com- 
panion ; — whose  talents,  learning,  and  graceful  address, 
made  him  the  equal  of  the  most  celebrated  American 
orators. 

Lucy,  Dr.  Gilmer’s  second  daughter,  was  a most  ex- 
cellent lady.  She  married  Peter  Minor,  of  Albemarle, 
a planter  of  wealth  and  respectability.  Their  son 
Frank  has  the  industry,  mental  capacity,  and  learning 
of  his  grandfather,  Dr.  Gilmer,  with  equable  temper 
and  firm  physical  constitution.  Although  he  is  a gen- 
tleman of  wealth,  he  devotes  his  time  and  talents  to 
training  the  promising  youth  of  his  country  for  future 
usefulness — conduct  worthy  of  the  highest  honor,  and 
will  not  be  forgotten  when  his  country  counts  its 
jewels. 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


29 


John  Gilmer,  the  third  son  of  Dr.  George  Gilmer, 
of  Williamsburg,  was  a very  handsome,  gay,  gallant 
man,  whose  person  and  purse  were  at  the  service  of 
every  pretty  woman  who  would  command  them.  He 
went  to  Scotland  to  receive  the  fortune  left  him  by  his 
grandfather  Blair.  He  indulged  in  the  pleasures  of 
European  society  until  he  spent  more  than  his  Scotch 
inheritance.  Soon  after  his  return  to  Virginia,  he  mar- 
ried Mildred  Meriwether,  whose  industry  and  economy 
prevented  her  husband’s  generous  wastefulness  making 
his  children  destitute.  He  was  an  officer  under  the 
Marquis  La  Fayette  at  the  siege  of  York,  and  perform- 
ed his  duty  well.  Soon  after  the  termination  of  the 
war,  he  removed  to  Georgia,  and  settled  on  Broad 
Fiver.  He  had  a large  family  of  children.  Sober  re- 
flection, and  the  hard  realities  of  frontier  life,  made  an 
altered  man  of  him.  He  became  pious,  and  died  at  the 
place  marked  on  the  map  as  his  in  1790. 

Thornton,  the  oldest  son  of  John  Gilmer,  married 
Martha  ILarvie.  He  was  a very  handsome,  honorable, 
upright  man,  well  educated  for  the  practice  of  physic, 
and  devoted  to  it.  He  did  not  succeed,  however,  as 
most  of  the  Broad  River  people  did,  in  acquiring  riches. 
He  was  like  a musical  instrument  strung  too  high  for 
the  room  in  which  it  is  played.  His  lofty,  gentlemanly 
bearing  did  not  move  in  unison  with  those  upon  whom 
he  depended  for  practice.  He  removed  to  Kentucky, 
and  afterwards  to  Illinois,  where  he  still  lives  very 
much  respected. 

Nicholas,  the  second  son,  married  Amelia  Clark, 
the  daughter  of  Micajah  Clark.  He  is  a kind-hearted, 
truthful,  honest  man,  with  uncommon  capacity  for  me- 
chanism. He  removed  to  Kentucky  more  than  thirty 
years  ago,  where  he  still  resides.  His  wife  became  de- 


30 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


ranged  as  her  mother  had  been.  His  trials  have  been 
the  hardest  to  which  good  people  are  ever  subjected. 
His  patience  in  bearing  them  has  been  most  exemplary. 

Francis  Meriwether,  the  third  son,  married  Mar- 
tha Barnett,  daughter  of  William  Barnett,  of  Broad 
River.  lie  removed  to  Montgomery,  Alabama,  where 
he  still  resides.  Fie  is  very  industrious,  and  has  ac- 
quired  great  wealth.  Flis  wife  is  a sensible,  energetic 
woman.  They  have  five  children. 

George  Oglethorpe,  fourth  son,  was  a man  of  de- 
cision, enterprise,  and  good  understanding.  He  re- 
moved to  Kentucky,  then  to  Alabama,  and  afterwards 
to  Louisiana,  where  he  died.  He  married  Martha 
Johnson,  daughter  of  Nicholas  Johnson,  of  Broad  River. 
He  acquired  great  wealth.  His  oldest  sou,  James  Blair 
Gilmer,  married  Eliza  Gilmer,  daughter  of  Peachy  R. 
Gilmer,  and  after  her  death,  the  Widow  Picket,  of  Red 
River,  the  daughter  of  Dr.  Graftenried,  of  South  Caro- 
lina. He  is  enterprising  to  recklessness,  and  very  de- 
termined in  his  purposes.  He  is  possessed  of  one  of 
the  largest  planting  estates  in  the  United  States.  His 
crop  of  cotton  last  year  exceeded  three  thousand  bags. 

David,  fifth  son  of  John  Gilmer,  married  a daughter 
of  Micajali  Clark.  She  became  deranged  like  her  mo- 
ther and  sister.  He  now  resides  in  Arkansas. 

Harrison  Blair,  oldest  daughter  of  John  Gilmer, 
married  Gabriel  Christian,  a Methodist  preacher,  whom 
scarcely  any  one  ever  heard  from  inclination  the  second 
time.  Though  he  was  wanting  in  the  powers  to  per- 
suade others  to  become  Christians,  he  followed  faith- 
fully the  straight  and  narrow  path-  himself.  Mrs. 
Christian  was  a mild,  amiable,  patient  woman.  They 
had  children. 

Betsey,  the  second  daughter,  married  Tom  McGehee, 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


31 


the  oldest  son  of  Micajah  McGeliee.  They  resided  on 
Goosepond  Creek,  at  the  place  marked  as  his  on  the 
map  of  the  Broad  River  Settlement.  Tom  was  a rough, 
truthful,  hard-working  man.  His  wife,  though  pretty, 
was  very  attentive  to  her  domestic  affairs. 

Sally,  the  third  daughter,  married  Burton  Talia- 
ferro, the  brother  of  Col.  Benjamin  Taliaferro.  She 
died  within  the  year  afterwards,  leaving  a daughter, 
who  died  whilst  a child. 

Jane,  the  fourth  daughter,  married  Tom  Johnson, 
the  nephew  of  Nicholas  Johnson,  of  Broad  River,  and 
after  his  death,  Abner  McGehee,  now  of  Montgomery, 
Alabama.  She  was  a stirring,  bustling  woman,  and 
made  herself  very  acceptable  to  both  her  husbands. 


THE  GRATTANS. 

John  Grattan  was  a native  of  Ireland,  and  remark- 
able for  those  qualities  which  make  the  better  class  of 
the  Irish  the  cleverest  of  European  people.  He  and 
Henry  Grattan,  the  most  eloquent  man  of  modern 
times,  belonged  to  the  same  family  stock. 

The  first  act  which  tradition  makes  known  of  John 
Grattan,  was  his  going  into  Scotland,  and,  Irishman-like, 
falling  desperately  in  love  with  a beautiful  young  lady, 
whom  he  accidentally  met  wdth  at  a boarding-school, 
asking  her  father  to  let  him  marry  her,  and  upon  his 
consenting  only  upon  condition  that  his  daughter  should 
first  finish  her  education,  courting1  her  until  she  married 
him  without  the  required  delay.  The  bold,  ardent 
spirit  with  which  he  commenced  life,  led  John  Grattan 


32 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


to  emigrate  to  America.  He  remained  in  Philadelphia 
a few  years,  and  then  settled  wliere  the  great  road  from 
the  west  to  the  north  crosses  the  Shenandoah  Eiver. 
He  was  a merchant,  and  continued  for  most  of  his  after 
life  to  supply  that  part  of  the  valley  with  foreign  goods. 
In  the  contest  between  liberty  and  power,  he,  like  most 
of  his  countrymen,  took  the  side  of  the  weak  and  the 
oppressed.  He  was  an  actor  in  the  meeting  in  Staun- 
ton, in  1775,  when  the  people  declared  their  determi- 
nation to  “ devote  themselves  to  the  support  of  the 
measures  for  the  preservation  of  American  liberty.” 
Though  he  was  too  old  for  soldiering;  when  the  light 
for  Independence  commenced,  he  did  the  work  of  a 
good  Whig,  by  encouraging  others  to  do  so.  He  built 
the  first  good  manufacturing  flour-mill  in  the  Shenan- 
doah Valley,  and  contributed  from  it  a portion  of  the 
two  hundred  barrels  which  were  sent  by  the  people  of 
Augusta  County  to  the  relief  of  the  inhabitants  of 
Boston  when  besieged  by  the  British  army. 

When  John  Grattan  settled  in  Western  Virginia, 
but  little  coin  circulated  there.  Trade  was  managed  in 
the  old  way  of  barter.  The  goods  bought  of  the  mer- 
chant were  paid  for  in  cattle,  ginseng,  pink-root,  bear 
and  deer  skins.  These  articles  were  disposed  of  in 
Philadelphia.  This  part  of  John  Grattan’s  business 
was  usually  transacted  by  his  wife.  She  went  to  Phil- 
adelphia on  horseback,  directed  the  drovers,  sold  the 
roots,  cattle,  and  pelfries,  and  bought  the  goods  for  her 
husband’s  stores.  She  was  frequently  accompanied  by 
one  of  her  daughters,  most  usually  Catharine,  who  was 
afterwards  Mrs.  Gamble,  of  Iiichmond.  Her  Irish 
friends  in  the  city  enabled  her  and  her  daughter  to 
pass  what  time  they  had  to  spare  for  pleasure  very 
agreeably  in  the  best  society.  The  old  lady,  smart  as 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


33 


she  was,  made  one  trade  still  remembered  freshly  by  the 
family.  She  was  in  Philadelphia  during  the  revolu- 
tionary war,  selling  her  stock  of  cattle  for  a stock  of 
goods,  when  some  trader  offered  her  scrip,  or  conti- 
nental paper  money,  for  cattle,  at  the  rate  of  two  dol- 
lars for  one  of  coin.  "When  she  left  home,  the  depreci- 
ation was  but  fifty  per  cent.  The  apparent  profits  were 
too  large  to  be  resisted.  Paper  was  bought  instead  of 
goods.  The  lady  speculator  set  off  for  home,  exulting 
in  her  financial  shrewdness.  Each  day’s  travel  lowered 
her  anticipations  of  profit,  until  she  reached  home,  when 
three  dollars  in  scrip  were  worth  only  one  in  specie. 
But  an  Irishman’s  heart  is  ever  fuller  of  love  for  woman 
than  money.  John  Grattan  removed  the  depression 
from  his  wife’s  feelings  by  impressing  his  love  upon  her 
lips. 

John  Grattan  was  a Scotch -Irish  Presbyterian,  of 
the  old  Covenanters’  faith  and  practice.  He  sung  Da- 
vid’s Psalms  in  long  metre.  Nothing  gave  him  more 
the  temper  to  swear,  than  to  hear  in  church,  upon  a 
sacramental  occasion,  a Methodist  spiritual  song  sung 
in  short  measure.  According  to  the  fashion  of  his  peo- 
ple, he  prayed  long  prayers  with  his  family  before  they 
went  to  bed,  especially  on  Sabbath  evenings.  On  one 
occasion  he  was  unusually  prolix.  When  he  got  up 
from  his  knees,  one  of  the  boys  remained  in  his  praying- 
posture.  The  old  lady  went  to  him,  patted  him  softly 
on  the  head,  saying,  “Johnny,  Johnny  ! I thought  Fa- 
ther Grattan  was  long  enough  ! ” Though  J ohn  Grat- 
tan’s residence  was  on  the  frontiers,  he  retained  the 
manners  and  dress  of  the  old-time  gentleman,  wearing 
always  a full  suit  of  black,  and  powdered  wig,  when  he 
went  into  company.  Mrs.  Grattan  was  one  of  the  most 
beautiful  women  of  the  country.  She  retained  until 


Si 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


old  age  the  cliarms  which  so  captivated  her  husband 
when  he  first  saw  her.  She  was  a warm  patriot  in  the 
time  of  the  Stamp  Act  and  duty  upon  tea.  The  anti- 
tea  resolutions  of  the  patriot  ladies  of  the  Colonies  dis- 
turbed her  very  much.  She  had  acquired  such  a 
strong  love  for  it,  that  she  could  not  dispense  with  its 
use.  So  she  discarded  the  tea-pot  from  the  table,  drew 
her  tea  in  a pitcher,  and  drank  it  as  usual,  letting  it 
pass  for  a decoction  of  medicinal  herbs,  then  very  much 
in  use  for  various  complaints. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Grattan  had  seven  children.  They 
desired  to  marry  their  daughter  Catharine  to  a rich  old 
Philadelphia  merchant,  who,  seeing  her  in  company 
with  her  mother  in  one  of  her  trading  expeditions,  fan- 
cied and  followed  her  in  a fine  carriage  to  Virginia. 
The  Scotch-Irish  rule  of  obedience  to  parents  was  too 
implicit  in  those  times  to  permit  a daughter  to  say  nay. 
So  Catharine  ran  away,  and  concealed  herself  in  the 
house  of  a friend,  until  the  man  of  money  lost  his  pa- 
tience and  returned  home.  Her  will  was  strengthened 
by  the  entreaties  of  Robert  Gamble,  a neighbor,  and 
her  devoted  admirer,  whose  merits  she  discovered  be- 
fore her  father  and  mother.  Their  consent  was  at  last 
given,  and  the  young  lovers  married.  Robert  Gamble 
was  an  officer  in  the  Revolutionary  Army,  very  early 
in  the  war  for  Independence,  and  continued  to  serve  to 
its  close.  He  was  always  with  the  main  army,  and  un- 
der the  immediate  command  of  General  Washington. 
Once  in  every  two  years  he  visited  his  wife  on  furlough. 
At  each  succeeding  visit  he  found  a prattling  babe  to 
add  to  the  pleasures  of  his  renewed  visit.  Immediate- 
ly after  the  war  ended,  Col.  Gamble  removed  from  his 
residence  in  the  county  near  the  old  stone  church,  to 
Staunton,  where  he  commenced  his  continued  vocation 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


35 


afterwards  of  buying  and  selling  goods.  His  sound 
sense,  constant  application  to  liis  employment,  integrity 
and  aptness  at  securing  the  confidence  of  those  with 
whom  he  dealt,  soon  rendered  him  so  prosperous,  that 
he  removed  to  Richmond,  as  a theatre  more  suitable 
for  his  enlarged  capacity.  He  became  one  of  the  prin- 
cipal traders  to  Europe  in  that  city.  Whilst  he  was 
yet  hale  in  health,  active  in  his  pursuits,  and  becoming 
more  and  more  respected  and  confided  in  by  his  coun- 
trymen, he  was  hilled  by  being  thrown  from  his  horse. 
Mrs.  Gamble  survived  her  husband  many  years.  She 
is  still  remembered  as  one  of  the  most  sensible,  pious, 
efficient  women,  who  has  ever  influenced  the  society  of 
the  City  of  Richmond.  Their  son  John,  was  educated 
at  the  best  schools  of  the  county,  and  graduated  at 
Princeton  with  the  first  honor  of  his  class.  He  was 
Chief  Justice  Marshall’s  Secretary,  when  he  was  United 
States  Minister  at  the  Court  of  France.  He  married 
Miss  Duncan,  the  daughter  of  a wealthy  English  gen- 
tleman ; and  after  her  death,  Miss  Greenup,  the  daugh- 
ter of  Governor  Greenup,  of  Kentucky.  He  and  his 
brother  Robert  continued  the  mercantile  business  of 
their  father,  until  they  lost  most  of  their  inherited 
wealth  from  the  embarrassments  created  by  the  re- 
stricted policy  of  Mr.  Jefferson’s  administration,  and  the 
war  that  followed. 

Robert,  their  second  son,  married  the  daughter  of 
Gen.  Brackenridge,  of  Virginia.  The  brothers  have 
removed  to  Florida,  where  they  are  distinguished  for 
their  generous  hospitality. 

Haney,  their  oldest  daughter,  is  a most  excellent 
lady.  She  married  William  IT.  Cabell,  who  was  Gov- 
ernor of  Virginia  at  an  age  when  other  aspiring  men 
are  mounting  the  first  round  of  ambition’s  ladder.  He 


36 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEROGIA. 


was  Judge  of  the  Court  of  Appeals  for  forty  years,  and 
its  President  when  he  died.  Conjugal  affection  was 
never  seen  in  a more  pleasing  aspect,  than  when  the 
eyes  of  the  old  President  of  the  Court  of  Appeals  met 
his  aged  wife’s. 

Elizabeth,  the  second  daughter  of  Col.  and  Mrs. 
Gamble,  married  William  Wirt,  wdio  was  Attorney- 
General  of  the  United  States — a beautiful  writer,  tal- 
ented lawyer,  and  eloquent  public  speaker.  She  is  one 
of  the  most  accomplished  and  intellectual  ladies  who 
has  ever  figured  in  the  cabinet  coteries  of  Washington 
City. 

John  Grattan’s  daughter  Elizabeth  married  Col. 
Samuel  Brown,  of  Greenbrier.  Samuel  Brown  and  his 
brother  John  w'ere,  when  boys  (in  1764),  made  pris- 
oners by  the  northwestern  Indians,  and  carried  by  them 
to  their  wigwams,  near  the  lakes.  Samuel  was  restored 
to  his  family  in  Virginia  after  five  years  captivity.  His 
brother  John  married  an  Indian  woman,  and  became 
a great  chief.  He  acted  quite  a conspicuous  part  in  the 
last  war  with  Great  Britain. 

Samuel  Brown  was  a quiet,  good  man,  who  thought 
every  thing  his  wife  said  and  did,  right. 

John  Grattan’s  daughter  Agnes  married  Col.  Eli- 
jah Page.  They  removed  to  Kentucky,  and  settled 
within  a mile  or  two  of  Lexington.  Two  of  their  sons 
volunteered  to  serve  against  the  Indians  and  British  in 
1812,  when  the  oldest  was  too  young  to  be  drafted. 
At  Winchester’s  defeat,  they  stood  by  the  gallant  Ma- 
jor Madison,  fighting  until  all  other  resistance  ceased. 
They  were  made  prisoners.  Having  been  greatly  heat- 
ed in  the  fight,  when  the  battle  was  over  they  became 
very  cold.  The  old  chief  to  whom  they  surrendered, 
seeing  their  sufferings,  took  the  blanket  from  his  own 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


37 


shoulders,  and  threw  it  over  the  youngest.  When  they 
arrived  at  the  wigwam  of  their  captor,  they  were  or- 
dered to  cut  wood  and  make  a fire.  Whilst  they  were 
obeying,  they  observed  the  young  squaws  laughing  at 
them  for  doing  squaws’  work.  They  threw  down  the 
axes,  and  refused  to  cut  any  more.  The  Indian  to 
whom  they  belonged  was  delighted  at  their  spirit. 
After  remaining  prisoners  for  several  months,  they 
made  their  escape,  through  many  wonderful  adventures, 
to  Detroit,  from  whence  they  were  sent  home.  Mrs. 
Page  was  one  of  the  most  beautiful  women  of  our  coun- 
try, and  as  sensitive  and  affectionate  as  she  was  good- 
looking.  Her  brother,  Major  Grattan,  visited  the 
western  country,  and  went  into  her  house  without  her 
expecting  him.  The  sight  of  her  beloved  brother, 
whom  she  had  not  seen  for  years,  so  overcame  her,  that 
she  fell  to  the  floor  senseless.  Alexander  Herring,  who 
knew  her  wrell  when  in  her  youthful  beauty,  said,  after 
a visit  she  made  to  her  friends  in  Virginia  when  sbe 
was  old,  that  “she  had  lost  more  beauty  than  any  other 
woman  ever  had.”  And  when  thus  old  and  deprived 
of  her  beauty,  Dr.  Speese  said,  that  her  countenance 
was  one  of  the  most  interesting  he  had  ever  looked  at. 

John  Grattan’s  daughter  Margaret  married  Samuel 
Miller,  of  Miller’s  Iron  Works — a powerful,  cheerful, 
sensible  man,  whom  most  men  feared  in  anger,  and  all 
loved  who  met  him  in  kindness.  Mrs.  Miller  was  an 
open-hearted,  free-spoken,  fearless  woman.  When  her 
husband  was  about  fighting  a pitched  battle,  soon  after 
their  marriage,  according  to  the  custom  among  neigh- 
bors at  that  time,  she  advised  him  not  to  strike  too 
high,  saying  that  a blow  in  the  face  might  disfigure, 
but  one  about  the  short  ribs  would  shorten  the  combat. 

John  Grattan’s  son  John  was  a promising  young 


38 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


officer  in  one  of  the  Virginia  regiments  in  the  Revolu- 
tionary  Army.  He  died  in  service,  near  Sunbury, 
Georgia. 

Robert  Grattan,  the  youngest  child  of  John  Grat- 
tan, was  the  pet  and  indulged  one  of  his  old  age.  Every 
one  did  some  work  in  former  times.  When  Robert 
was  a boy,  and  employed  in  minding  the  gap  whilst 
the  grain  was  hauled  from  the  field,  his  mother  had  a 
counterpane  stretched  over  him,  to  keep  off  the  sun, 
whilst  he  scratched  on  the  fiddle  in  the  shade.  He 
commenced  business  with  a good  estate,  in  co-partner- 
ship with  his  frugal  brother-in-law,  Col.  Gamble.  His 
open-handed  liberality  and  generous  hospitality  less- 
ened it  more  than  it  was  increased  by  the  profits  of 
trade.  He  commanded  a splendid  company  of  cavalry 
against  the  whiskey  insurgents  of  Pennsylvania.  His 
intercourse  with  General  Washington  during  the  time, 
made  the  strongest  impression  upon  his  excitable  na- 
ture. One  of  the  incidents  of  this  service  which  he 
used  to  tell,  was  of  a bet  made  by  Harry  Lee,  the  most 
impudent  of  men,  that  he  could  tap  General  Washing- 
ton on  the  shoulder,  look  him  in  the  face,  and  ask  him 
an  impertinent  question.  How  when  General  Lee 
went  up  to  the  side  of  General  Washington,  then  stand- 
ing on  the  parade  ground  directing  the  movements  of 
the  army,  and  placed  his  hand  familiarly  on  the  gen- 
eral’s arm,  the  great  chief  turned  upon  him  his  stern 
commanding  look,  until  Lee  shrunk  away,  and  paid  his 
bet— the  only  kind  of  debts  he  ever  paid. 

Major  Grattan’s  health  failed  from  the  unsuitable- 
ness of  storekeeping  to  his  quick,  active  spirit.  He 
returned  to  his  farm  on  North  River,  where  he  resided 
until  his  death.  He  had  all  the  admirable  qualities  of 
the  Irish  race,  to  which  he  belonged.  His  house  was 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA.  c9 

open  to  every  one.  His  kindness  was  ever  pressing 
hard  upon  liis  means.  He  resided  near  the  public  road 
from  Staunton  to  Winchester.  For  twenty  years  the 
stage  never  passed  by  his  gate  without  some  kind  of 
refreshments  being  sent  to  the  passengers,  and  to  Bog- 
get,  the  old  crippled  soldier  of  the  Revolution,  who 
owned  and  usually  accompanied  it. 

The  cordial  affection  and  unlimited  confidence  be- 
tween Major  Grattan  and  George  Gilmer  was  scarcely 
ever  equalled.  Their  entire  trust  in  each  other  used  to 
renew  the  impressions  made  by  my  early  reading  how 
Damon  stood  composedly  at  the  place  of  execution,  ex- 
pecting his  friend,  yet  more  than  willing  to  die  for  him, 
and  how,  soon  after,  a shout  away  beyond  the  crowd 
was  heard,  and  Pythias  seen  with  arm  uplifted,  press- 
ing with  might  and  main  towards  the  place  of  execution, 
to  save  his  friend  from  death  by  dying  himself. 

Ho  one  ever  doubted  Major  Grattan’s  word  who 
looked  at  him,  or  listened  to  him.  His  face,  voice,  and 
every  thing  about  him,  declared  his  sincerity.  He  had 
a fine  commanding  person,  six  feet  high,  gray  hair  when 
young,  and  dark  bright  eyes.  His  spirit  of  command 
was  so  natural  and  easy,  that  his  children  never  thought 
of  disobedience.  All  his  household  reverenced  and 
loved  him  without  measure.  He  was  devoted  to  his 
wife,  and  as  kind  a father  as  ever  lived. 

I was  often  at  Major  Grattan’s  during  a visit  I made 
to  Virginia,  in  1813,  for  the  recovery  of  my  health. 
He  invited  me  to  become  a citizen  of  Virginia,  proffer- 
ing, if  I would  settle  in  Rockingham,  to  do  his  best  to 
send  me  to  Congress,  Democrat  as  I was.  And  yet, 
when  I tried  to  ask  him  for  his  daughter  nine  years  af- 
ter, I found  it  one  of  the  most  difficult  matters  I had 
ever  undertaken  to  do.  When  I at  last  was  able  to 


40 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


say,  by  bis  assistance,  wbat  I desired,  be  answered  that 
be  preferred  me  for  bis  daughter’s  husband  to  any  one 
in  the  world.  Ilis  only  distress  in  our  after  intercourse 
was,  that  be  could  not  do  enough  for  me. 

Mrs.  Grattan  was  the  daughter  of  Peachy  R.  Gil- 
mer, of  Rockingham.  She  survived  her  husband  many 
years.  Her  temper  was  firm,  and  her  understanding 
vigorous.  Her  clear  perception  of  right,  and  sensitive 
conscientiousness  of  duty,  made  her  entire  life  a pattern 
of  excellence  for  all  who  knew  her.  Her  precepts 
and  example  are  exciting  her  children  to  do  for  them- 
selves, their  families,  and  society,  what  riches  could  not 
do  for  them.  Her  sons  are  making  their  way  to  for- 
tune and  to  fame  along  the  road  opened  to  them  by 
the  constant  labor  and  perseverance  of  their  mother. 
Her  daughters,  acting  from  the  impulse  of  early  im- 
pressions, are  diffusing  happiness  around  them,  so  that 
they  may  truly  call  their  mother  blessed.  The  devo- 
tion and  purity  of  the  mother  have  placed  a talisman 
in  the  bosom  of  her  children  to  charm  away  evil,  and  a 
bright  star  of  hope  to  lead  them  on  to  a common  home- 
in  heaven. 

Robert  and  Elizabeth  Grattan  left  at  their  death 
five  children — three  sons  and  two  daughters. 

Eliza  Frances,  the  oldest,  is  written  about  so  much 
hereafter,  that  it  would  be  out  of  place  to  say  any  thing 
of  her  here. 

Robert,  their  oldest  son,  was  educated  for  the  bar,, 
and  had  commenced  practice,  when  his  father’s  health 
failed  so  entirely,  that  his  presence  became  necessary  to 
take  care  of  him  and  his  affairs.  He  quitted  his  law- 
office,  and  devoted  himself  to  the  discharge  of  the- 
duties  of  a son.  After  his  father’s  death,  he  continued 
his  services  to  his  aged  mother  and  an  infirm  blind 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


41 


aunt.  When  lie  took  charge  of  his  father’s  plantation, 
it  was  overrun  with  bushes  and  briers,  and  yielding  but 
little  profit.  It  is  now  covered  with  clover  and  stock, 
and  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  and  productive  farms 
in  the  valley.  In  all  his  efforts  to  improve  his  condi- 
tion, he  has  been  aided  by  his  cheerful,  industrious, 
sensible  wife.  They  have  a house  full  of  promising 
children,  whose  future  success  is  provided  for  in  the 
best  way,  by  constant  employment  on  the  farm,  in  the 
school-room,  and  at  whatever  else  may  tend  to  the  for- 
mation of  habits  of  industry  and  usefulness. 

Peachy  Ridgway,  the  second  son,  is  a lawyer,  and 
has  been  constantly  from  his  youth  devoted  to  his  pro- 
fession. His  capital  understanding  and  untiring  indus- 
try have  placed  him  upon  an  equality  with  the  most 
distinguished  men  of  the  Richmond  bar.  His  truthful- 

O 

ness,  integrity,  love  of  his  wife,  children,  friends,  coun- 
try, and  sincere  piety,  make  him  a friend  worth  having, 
and  a kinsman  to  be  proud  of.  He  married  at  twenty- 
one,  Elvira  Furgerson,  a descendant  of  the  Bollings,  of 
the  Pocahontas  stock.  She  is  ivell  informed,  neat,  and 
agreeable.  They  have  so  many  sons  and  daughters,  as 
to  impose  upon  their  father  the  necessity  of  most  inces- 
sant and  laborious  exertions  to  educate  and  provide  for 
them.  His  fate  looks  hard;  but  the  young  Grattans 
are  so  pretty  and  promising,  that  what  would  otherwise 
be  very  heavy,  loses  its  weight  in  the  buoyancy  of  hope 
for  their  future  success  and  happiness. 

Lucy  Gilmer,  Major  Grattan's  second  daughter,  is 
said  to  be  very  much  like  her  beautiful  grandmother, 
Elizabeth  Brown.  She  married  Dr.  George  W.  Harris, 
of  Goochland,  Virginia,  who  is  as  good  a husband  as 
any  woman  ever  was  blessed  with.  She  devotes  herself 
to  flowers,  home  affairs,  visiting  the  sick,  and  doing 


42 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


whatever  she  can  to  add  to  the  happiness  of  others. 
She  is  indeed  too  good  to  be  described  truthfully  to 
those  who  do  not  know  her  as  I do. 

John,  the  youngest  son  of  Major  Grattan,  studied 
medicine,  and  upon  being  prepared  for  practice,  settled 
n Morgan  County,  Georgia.  He  afterwards  removed 
to  Columbus,  Mississippi,  where  he  died  when  the  pros- 
pect was  opening  of  profitable  practice,  and  of  great 
professional  reputation.  He  had  the  gay,  cheerful 
spirit  of  his  father,  and  the  clear  perceptions  of  his  mo- 
ther,— ivas  truthful  and  upright.  He  married  Martha, 
the  daughter  of  his  kinsman,  Peachy  11.  Gilmer.  She 
now  lives  with  her  three  children  near  her  father,  in 
Montgomery,  Alabama.  She  is  a fond  mother,  an 
affectionate  daughter,  and  a kind  kinswoman. 


THE  LEWISES. 

John  Lea-vis  was  a native  of  the  County  of  Dublin, 
in  Ireland.  His  grandfather,  or  some  still  more  re- 
mote ancestor,  removed  from  Wales  to  Ireland  duilng 
the  civil  wars  of  the  time  of  Charles  the  First.  Sev- 
eral accounts  of  the  Lewises  have  been  written  of  late 
years,  in  which  they  are  said  to  have  been  descended 
from  a family  of  French  Huguenots,  who  were  driven 
to  England  by  the  Edict  of  Nantz.  My  mother  is  in 
her  eighty-ninth  year.  I read  aloud  to  her  when  a 
small  boy  Hume’s  History.  When  listening  to  the 
account  of  the  conquest  of  Wales,  by  Edward  the  First, 
I recollect  her  saying  that  she  had  heard  from  her 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


43 


father  that  the  Lewellens  were  his  kinspeople,  and 
that  his  ancestors  had  emigrated  to  Ireland  from 
Wales.  She  remembers  Cromwell’s  picture  hanging 
in  his  office-room,  and  his  regarding  it  as  a precious 
relic  of  former  times.  The  red  hair  and  irascible  tem- 
per, which  still  continue  to  distinguish  the  Lewises, 
indicate  Welsh  rather  than  French  or  English  origin. 

John  Lewis  married  Margaret  Linn.  The  biogra- 
phers of  the  Lewises  say  that  Margaret  Limi  was  of 
the  Linns  of  Lock  Linn,  in  Scotland.  This  sounds  very 
well,  and  may  be  so.  But  some  circumstances,  very 
slight  indeed,  incline  me  to  the  opinion  that  the  Linns 
emigrated  to  Ireland  from  Wales,  ivitli  the  Lewises. 

In  1720,  the  Irish  lord  of  whom  John  Lewis  held 
land,  attempted  to  enforce  some  unjust  demands  upon 
his  tenant.  An  affray  ensued,  in  which,  according  to 
the  account  told  of  the  affair  by  the  Lewises,  their  an- 
cestor performed  wonderful  feats  of  strength  and  cour- 
age. It  is  certain  that  the  attacking  lord  lost  his  life. 
John  Lewis  took  refuge  in  Portugal,  with  his  brother- 
in-law,  Linn,  a resident  merchant  there.  Finding  that 
the  power  and  influence  of  his  enemies  made  his  con- 
tinuance in  Lisbon  unsafe,  he  crossed  the  Atlantic. 
Upon  being  joined  by  his  wife,  he  pushed  into  the  in- 
terior of  Pennsylvania,  and  up  the  valley  between  the 
first  mountain  ranges,  until  having  passed  beyond  the 
white  settlements,  he  located  near  where  the  town  of 
Staunton  now  is,  giving  strong  proof  by  his  move- 
ments that  he  dreaded  Irish  revenge  more  than  Indian 
massacre.  The  remains  of  an  old  stone  house  on  Lew- 
is’s Creek,  a mile  east  of  Staunton,  still  points  out  the 
place  where  the  white  man  first  planted  himself  in 
Western  Virginia. 

John  Lewis  was  brave  and  enterprising.  He  sur- 


44 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


veyetl  many  tracts  of  valuable  land,  when  fear  of  the 
Indians  deterred  others  from  venturing  into  the  back- 
woods,  and  thus  acquired  sufficient  territory  in  his 
adopted  country  to  have  formed  a principality  in  the 
country  from  which  he  had  fled  in  consequence  of  a 
contest  for  a few  acres.  The  Warm  Springs,  Sweet 
Springs,  and  many  other  places  of  great  value  belonged 
to  him.  His  accounts  to  his  friends  and  kinsmen  in 
Ireland  of  the  advantages  of  New  Virginia,  attracted 
to  it  the  Alexanders,  McDowels,  Prestons,  Pattons, 
Mathewses,  and  others. 

The  frontier  men  of  that  part  of  the  Colony  of  Vir- 
ginia were  but  little  restrained  by  law  or  the  fear  of 
punishment.  The  Indian  trail,  which  led  from  the 
north  to  the  south,  and  along  which  the  warriors  of  the 
northwestern  Indians,  the  Clierokees,  and  Creeks,  wend- 
ed their  way  in  attacks' upon  each  other,  passed  near 
John  Lewis’s  house.  They  never  failed  in  going  by  to 
partake  of  his  frontier  Aire,  and  give  him  some  token 
of  their  friendship. 

In  June,  1754,  a party  of  twelve  Northwestern  In- 
dian warriors  stopped  at  John  Lewis’s  on  their  return 
from  the  South,  where  they  had  been  satisfying  their 
revenge  upon  the  Clierokees  for  some  injury  received. 
Some  of  the  neighbors  happened  to  be  there  whose 
families  or  friends  had  suffered  from  attacks  of  the 
Indians.  They  insisted  upon  the  party  remaining 
until  night,  and  exhibiting  their  dances.  Upon  their 
consenting,  they  left  and  employed  the  time  until  dark 
collecting  the  neighbors  who  had  suffered  from  Indian 
murders.  A beef  was  killed,  and  a large  log  fire  made, 
around  which  the  Indians  assembled,  cooking  and  eat- 
ing to  their  stomach’s  content.  They  danced  and 
drank  whiskey  until  their  lookers-on  were  satisfied  with 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


45 


the  display  of  their  antics,  and  then  went  on  their  way 
homeward  as  far  as  the  Middle  River,  where  they  lodg- 
ed in  Anderson’s  barn.  As  soon  as  they  were  sound 
asleep,  the  whites  were  upon  them  with  their  axes, 
knives,  and  guns.  Only  one  escaped.  For  that  night’s 
doings  many  Virginia  wives  were  made  widows,  and 
mothers  childless.  The  government  of  Virginia  en- 
deavored to  punish  the  perpetrators.  All  fled  to  some 
distant  part  of  the  extended  frontier  of  the  Colonies, 
except  one  by  the  name  of  King,  who  lived  a skulking 
life  for  a long  time,  always  keeping  his  gun  near  him. 
He  sometimes  would  go  to  the  old  Augusta  Church, 
the  great  assembling  place  for  worship  of  the  Scotch- 
Irish  of  that  part  of  the  country,  where,  seated  upon 
the  sill  of  the  door  with  his  inseparable  companion  the 
rifle  in  his  hand,  he  listened  to  the  words  of  the 
preacher,  so  necessary  to  the  comfort  of  the  Irish  spirit, 
whether  Protestant  or  Catholic.  He  was  suffered  to 
work  out  his  own  punishment,  avoiding  all  men,  and 
avoided  by  all. 

During  the  war  which  followed  this  outrage,  John 
Lewis  provided  for  the  defence  of  his  family  by  forti- 
fying his  house.  An  attack  was  once  made  upon  it  by 
a party  of  Indians,  when  his  sons  and  men-servants 
were  absent.  Though  old  and  infirm,  he  stationed 
himself  at  a port-hole,  and  kept  up  a constant  shooting 
at  the  Indians,  whilst  his  wife  reloaded  the  guns.  His 
sons  and  servants,  hearing  the  repeated  report  of  guns, 
returned  home  and  drove  the  Indians  off. 

John  Lewis’s  person  was  tall  and  muscular.  He 
had  great  strength,  fearless  spirit,  hardy  habits,  and 
was  the  best  backwoodsman  of  his  day.  Being  at 
some  public  place,  after  the  country  about  Staunton 
was  settled,  he  laid  down  his  shillalah  for  a moment. 


46 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


A Tuckalioe,  avIio  was  present,  took  it  up  to  examine 
its  curious  workmanship.  John  Lewis  told  him  that 
the  custom  in  his  country  was,  that  he  who  took  up 
another’s  cudgel  must  fight  or  treat.  The  people  of 
the  old  countries  acquired,  by  coming  to  the  colonies, 
the  spirit  of  doing,  without  restraint,  what  they  pleased. 
The  Tuckalioe  announced  that  he  would  not  treat 
through  a threat.  lie  prepared  for  the  cudgelling  by 
going  into  the  woods  close  by  and  cutting  a long  hick- 
ory stick,  which  he  flailed  in  the  middle  until  the  two 
ends  could  be  brought  together.  He  went  back  to 
the  company  and  announced  himself  ready  to  receive 
the  cudgelling.  The  Coliee  and  Tuckalioe  stood  up 
near  by,  and  facing  each  other,  with  the  ends  of  their 
sticks  touching,  as  was  the  fashion  of  cudgel-playing. 
When  the  word  “ready”  ivas  pronounced  by  the 
judges  of  the  contest,  the  Tuckalioe  drew  back  his 
hickory  cudgel  and  struck  a blow  with  both  hands  and 
all  his  might  across  the  Cohee’s  shillalah,  then  at  the 
scientific  guard.  The  flailed  part  gave  way,  so  that 
the  upper  end  came  down  Avith  great  force  upon  John 
Lewis’s  head  and  finished  the  fight. 

John  Lewis  had  four  sons,  Thomas,  AndreAv,  Charles, 
and  William. 

Thomas,  the  oldest,  was  the  Colonial  Surveyor  of 
Augusta  County,  which  then  included  within  its  limits 
most  of  Western  Virginia.  A part  of  Gen.  Washing- 
ton’s great  wealth  Avas  acquired  by  surveys  of  land 
under  his  authority,  or  in  common  with  him.  After 
the  revolutionary  war,  Gen.  Washington  passed  several 
days  at  his  house,  arranging  their  land  claims ; a visit 
as  well  remembered  as  King  Charles’s  to  Tillietudlum. 
My  father,  then  a youth  of  nineteen,  returning  from 
my  grandfather  Lewis’s,  where  he  had  been  visiting 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


47 


my  mother,  met  Gen.  Washington  fording  the  Shenan- 
doah River,  in  the  dusk  of  the  evening.  Gen.  Wash- 
ington asked  him  how  he  should  go  to  Mr.  Lewis’s. 
My  father,  taking  him  for  some  big  Dutchman  of  the 
neighborhood  who  was  poking  fun  at  him  for  his  fre- 
quent visitings  there,  answered,  “ Follow  your  nose.” 
The  people  of  Augusta  County  met  in  Staunton 
the  22d  of  February,  1775,  to  take  into  consideration 
the  proceedings  of  the  General  Congress  of  the  Colo- 
nies in  opposition  to  the  unjust  measures  of  Great  Bri- 
tain, and  to  appoint  delegates  to  a Colonial  Conven- 
tion, to  be  held  in  Richmond.  They  chose  Thomas 
Lewis  and  Samuel  McDowell.  In  their  instructions  to 
their  delegates,  they  say,  “ Our  rights  we  are  fully  re- 
solved, with  our  lives  and  fortunes,  inviolably  to  pre- 
serve.” Thomas  Lewis  and  Samuel  McDowell  address- 
ed a letter  to  Peyton  Randolph,  Richard  Henry  Lee, 
George  Washington,  Patrick  Henry,  Richard  Bland, 
Benjamin  Harrison,  and  Edward  Pendleton,  members 
from  Virginia  to  the  General  Congress,  in  which  they 
thank  them  for  their  maintenance  of  the  cause  of  lib- 
erty, and  say,  “May  our  hearts  be  open  to  receive,  and 
our  arms  strong  to  defend  that  liberty.”  The  Congress- 
men reply : “ The  assurance  from  the  brave  and  spirit- 
ed people  of  Augusta,  that  their  hearts  and  hands  shall 
be  devoted  to  the  support  of  the  measures  for  the  pre- 
servation of  American  liberty,  gives  us  the  highest  sat- 
isfaction, and  must  afford  pleasure  to  every  friend  to 
the  just  rights  of  mankind.” 

Thomas  Lewis  was  Commissioner  of  the  Confedera- 
tion, in  1777,  to  treat  with  the  Indian  tribes  who  had 
been  defeated  at  the  battle  of  Point  Pleasant.  He 
concluded  a peace  by  which  the  best  soldiers  of  the 
Colony  of  Virginia  were  left  at  liberty  to  join  the  army 


48 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


under  Gen.  Washington,  to  fight  for  the  independence 
of  their  country,  instead  of  remaining  at  home  to  de- 
fend the  frontiers  from  Indian  massacres. 

Thomas  Lewis  was  a member  of  the  Virginia  Leg- 
islature, when  its  proceedings  gave  tone  to  the  public 
voice  throughout  the  Colonies.  Lie  was  a member  of 
the  Virginia  Convention  which  ratified  the  Constitu- 
tion of  the  United  States,  by  a vote  so  nearly  divided, 
that  the  patriot  yet  rejoices  at  his  country’s  escape  from 
the  anarchy  which  would  have  been  the  consequence 
of  a different  result.  Lie  voted  for  ratification. 

Thomas  Lewis’s  habits  were  studious,  and  his  taste 
literary.  His  library  was  large,  and  made  up  of  classi- 
cal books,  when  learning  was  a singular  distinction  in 
Western  Virginia.  ILe  married  Jane  Strother.  They 
had  thirteen  children. 

Thomas  Lewis’s  three  oldest  sons,  John,  Andrew, 
and  Thomas,  were  officers  in  the  revolutionary  army. 
John  and  Andrew  were  with  Gen.  Washington  at  Val- 
ley Forge,  and  throughout  the  Jersey  campaign.  John 
and  Thomas  were  at  the  surrender  of  Cornwallis.  An- 
drew was  an  officer  under  General  Wayne,  in  his  ex- 
pedition against  the  Western  Indians,  in  If  9 5,  and  lost 
an  arm. 

Thomas  Lewis  bequeathed  most  of  his  large  estate 
to  his  two  youngest  sons,  Charles  and  Benjamin. 
They  lived  near  each  other  in  Bockingham  County,  on 
the  Shenandoah  River.  They  were  very  social,  well 
informed,  respectable  gentlemen.  They  were  excluded 
from  office  by  their  being  federalists,  when  almost  all 
others  in  Rockingham  were  republicans. 

Margaret  Lewis,  the  oldest  daughter  of  Thomas 
Lewis,  was  a very  sensible,  well-informed  woman.  She 
married  Capt.  McClannahan,  who  was  afterwards  killed 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


49 


at  the  battle  of  the  Point.  Her  second  husband  was 
Col.  Bowyer. 

Agatha,  the  second  daughter  of  Thomas  Lewis, 
married,  when  quite  young,  Capt.  John  Frog,  her  first 
cousin. 

About  mid-day  on  the  10th  of  October,  1774,  in 
the  town  of  Staunton,  a little  girl,  the  daughter  of 
John  and  Agatha  Frog,  and  grand-daughter  of  Thomas 
and  Jane  Lewis,  was  sleeping  near  her  mother,  when 
suddenly  she  waked,  screaming  that  the  Indians  were 
killing  her  father.  She  was  quieted  by  her  mother, 
and  again  went  to  sleep.  She  again  waked,  screaming 
that  the  Indians  were  killing  her  father.  She  was 
again  quieted  and  went  to  sleep,  and  was  waked  up  by 
the  same  horrid  vision,  and  continued  screaming  be- 
yond being  hushed.  The  child’s  mother  was  very 
much  alarmed  at  the  first  dream.  But  when  the  same 
horrid  sight  was  seen  the  third  time,  her  Irish  imagi- 
nation, quickened  by  inherited  superstition,  presented 
to  her  the  spectacle  of  her  husband  scalped  by  the  In- 
dians. ITer  cries  drew  together  her  neighbors,  who, 
upon  being  informed  of  what  had  happened,  joined 
their  lamentations  to  hers,  until  all  Staunton  was  in  a 
state  of  commotion. 

It  so  happened  that  the  great  battle  of  the  Point, 
between  the  Western  Indians  and  the  Virginians,  was 
fought  on  the  very  day  when  all  Staunton  was  thus 
agitated.  And  what  was  still  more  wonderful,  John 
Frog,  the  father  of  the  child  who  saw  in  her  dream  the 
Indians  killing  her  father,  was  actually  killed  by  the 
Indians  on  that  day. 

Mrs.  Frog’s  second  husband  was  Capt.  John  Stuart. 

When,  in  1752,  Robert  Dinwiddie  came  over  as 
Governor  of  Virginia,  he  was  accompanied  by  John 

4 


50 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


Stuart,  Iris  intimate  friend.  John  Paul,  son  of  Hugh, 
Bishop  of  Nottingham,  a partisan  of  the  house  of  Stuart, 
was  killed  at  the  siege  of  Dalrymple  Castle,  in  1745. 
He  left  a widow  and  three  children  ; — John,  who  be- 
came a Roman  Catholic  priest,  and  died  on  the  Eastern 
shore  of  Maryland  ; Audley,  who  was  for  ten  years  an 
officer  in  the  British  colonial  forces  in  Virginia ; and 
Ann,  who  married  George  Mathews,  afterwards  Gov- 
ernor of  Georgia.  Mrs.  Paul,  formerly  Margaret  Linn, 
of  the  Linns  of  Lock  Linn,  a niece  of  Mrs.  John  Lewis, 
married  John  Stuart.  They  had  two  children ; John, 
who  married  Mrs.  Frog,  and  known  as  Col.  Stuart  of 
Greenbrier;  and  Betsey,  who  became  the  wife  of  Col. 
Richard  Woods,  of  Albemarle  County,  Virginia. 

Capt.  John  Stuart  did  great  service  for  his  country, 
and  acquired  distinguished  reputation  by  his  courage 
and  skill  at  the  battle  of  the  Point.  His  fame  and  the 
fame  of  the  incident  which  connected  the  widow  Frog 
with  the  battle  of  the  Point,  created  such  a sympathy 
between  them  that  when  they  met  they  married. 

Col.  Stuart’s  estate  was  estimated,  when  he  died,  at 
$200,000.  His  son  Lewis  was  for  a long  time  clerk 
of  Greenbrier  County,  then  one  of  the  most  lucrative 
offices  of  Western  Virginia. 

His  son  Charles  graduated  at  Yale  College ; was  a 
very  sensible,  respectable  gentleman,  and  for  some  time 
President  of  the  Board  of  Public  Works  of  Virginia. 

Felder,  the  son  of  a poor  German  Switzer,  who  set- 
tled and  died  in  Richland  District,  South  Carolina,  had 
industrious  habits,  and  the  strong  desire  to  improve  his 
^condition  in  life.  Upon  his  acquiring  sufficient  know- 
ledge of  the  classics  for  admittance  into  college,  he  “tra- 
velled on  foot  and  on  the  top  of  wagons  to  Charleston, 
and  in  the  most  economical  way  to  New  Plaven. 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


51 


When  he  arrived  there  he  strolled  into  the  yard  of 
Yale  College,  knowing  nobody,  and  without  letters  to 
any  one.  As  he  was  walking  about,  at  a loss  what  to 
do,  stared  at  and  laughed  at  by  the  passing  college 
boys,  his  distress  was  noticed  by  Charles  Stuart,  then 
belonging  to  the  senior  class.  He  accosted  Felder  in  a 
friendly  way,  and  upon  being  informed  that  he  wished 
to  be  admitted  into  college,  aided  him  in  his  purpose, 
and  kept  him  with  him  until  his  rawness  was  overcome. 
I served  in  Congress  with  Felder  in  1827-8-9.  We 
met  at  the  White  Sulphur  Springs  in  the  summer  of 
1845,  and  went  together  to  Lewisburg,  the  seat  of 
justice  of  Greenbrier  County,  where  we  found  Charles 
Stuart  presiding  in  the  County  Court.  I witnessed 
their  meeting,  and  sympathized  with  Felder’s  ’ great 
pleasure  from  the  grateful  recollection  of  kindness  re- 
ceived when  needed,  and  Charles  Stuart’s  for  the  suc- 
cess of  his  uncultivated  protege. 

Col.  Stuart’s  only  daughter  married  Col.  Crocket,, 
of  Wythe  County,  Virginia,  a wealthy  and  highly  re- 
spectable gentleman.  Miss  Frog,  Mrs.  Stuart’s  daughter 
by  her  first  husband,  married  Mr.  Estill.  Their  daughter 
married  Mr.  Erskine,  of  Lewisburg. 

In  1848,  whilst  I was  at  the  White  Sulphur  Springs, 
I saw  my  kinswoman,  Mrs.  Erskine,  very  frequently. 
She  was  then  very  much  chagrined  at  a strange  freak 
of  her  kind  and  affectionate  husband.  He  had  gone  to 
Mexico  in  search  of  fame.  His  imagination  had  be- 
come  so  excited  by  the  recollection  of  the  impressions 
which  the  adventures  of  the  Lewises  and  Erskines,  in 
the  Indian  wars  of  former  times,  had  made  upon  him 
when  young,  that  he  could  not  be  restrained  from  try- 
ing to  perform  some  great  exploit  himself.  I heard 
soon  after  I left  the  Springs  that  my  kinswoman  was 


52 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


in  great  distress.  Her  husband’s  Don  Quixotism  had 
terminated  in  his  death. 

In  1777,  Cornstalk,  the  great  chief  of  the  Shawnees, 
visited  the  fort  at  Point  Pleasant  to  inform  Capt.  Stu- 
art, then  stationed  there,  that  the  Shawnees  intended 
to  take  part  with  the  British  against  Virginia.  The 
officers  detained  him  as  a hostage.  Ellenipsco,  the  son 
of  Cornstalk,  hearing  of  his-  father’s  confinement,  left 
his  nation  to  remain  with  him.  The  day  after  his  arri- 
val at  the  fort,  two  men  crossed  the  Kenhawa  to  hunt. 
A party  of  Indians  killed  and  scalped  one  of  them,  and 
pursued  the  other  to  the  river.  The  company  to  which 
the  man  who  was  killed  belonged,  became  so  enraged 
that  they  marched  in  a body  to  the  fort,  crying  out, 
“ let  us  kill  the  Indians.”  Capt.  Stuart  endeavored  in 
vain  to  prevent  the  execution  of  their  murderous  pur- 
pose. The  interpreter’s  wife,  who  had  been  a captive 
among  the  Shawnees,  and  had  great  affection  for  Corn- 
stalk,  ran  to  him  and  informed  him  that  the  men  of 
the  fort  were  about  to  put  him  to  death.  Ellenipsco 
was  at  first  very  much  alarmed.  But  Cornstalk  urged 
him  to  meet  death  fearlessly,  telling  him  that  the 
Great  Spirit  had  sent  his  son  to  him  that  they  might 
die  together.  Immediately  after,  seven  bullets  passed 
through  the  body  of  Cornstalk.  Ellenipsco,  seeing  his 
father  die,  met  his  own  death  with  composure. 

In  1778,  Donnelly’s  fort  was  attacked  by  the  In- 
dians. A white  man  and  a negro  held  the  door  whilst 
the  Indians  were  endeavoring  to  push  it  open.  They 
let  the  door  suddenly  fly  open,  got  an  Ind ian  into  their 
clutches,  shut  the  door,  and  killed  him.  Whilst  the 
white  man  was  holding  the  door  shut  with  all  his 
might,  the  negro  seized  a gun  and  fired  at  the  Indians, 
which  waked  the  men,  women,  and  children  who  were 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


53 


sleeping  in  another  part  of  the  fort  in  time  to  secure 
all  the  entrances.  Capt.  Stuart,  Capt.  Arbuckle,  and 
Col.  Samuel  Lewis  collected,  in  great  haste,  a body  of 
men  and  drove  the  Indians  off.  Virginia  purchased 
the  freedom  of  the  negro  in  reward  for  his  services. 

Jane,  the  third  daughter  of  Thomas  Lewis,  married 
Capt..  Hughs  of  the  continental  army.  They  removed 
to  Kentucky,  where  Mrs.  Hughs  died,  leaving  only  one 
child,  an  infant  son.  Her  last  request  of  her  husband 
was,  that  when  her  son  was  old  enough,  he  should  be 
sent  to  my  mother,  to  be  brought  up  with  her  children. 
He  came  to  Georgia  and  remained  some  time  with 
Patrick  Hughs,  his  uncle,  a frolicking,  card-playing 
Irishman,  who  lived  in  Burke  County.  Young  Hughs 
soon  acquired  the  habit  of  his  kinsman.  He  came 
as  far  as  Washington,  on  his  way  to  visit  my  mother, 
where  he  fell  in  with  a party  of  gamblers,  and  accom- 
panied them  to  the  western  country.  As  he  and 
his  companions  were  riding  along  a road  which  led 
through  a dense  forest,  he  fell  behind.  Those  before, 
hearing  the  report  of  a pistol,  looked  back  and  saw 
young  Hughs  falling  from  his  horse,  covered  with  his 
blood  and  brains. 

Mary,  the  fourth  daughter,  married  Capt.  McEl- 
hany,  of  the  continental  army. 

Elizabeth,  my  mother,  the  fifth  daughter,  married 
Thomas  M.  Gilmer. 

Ann,  the  sixth  daughter,  married  Douthae, 

fresh  from  Ireland,  where  he  had  learned,  in  the  River 
Shannon,  to  catch  trout  with  unsurpassed  skill.  His 
proficiency  in  fishing  was  too  great  to  admit  of  excel- 
lency in  any  other  art.  After  his  death,  his  widow 
married  Mr.  Trench.  They  removed  to  Kentucky. 

Fanny,  the  seventh  daughter  of  Thomas  Lewis, 


54 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


was  very  pretty  and  amiable.  Slie  married  Col.  Lay- 
ton  Yancey,  who  was  an  officer  in  the  American  army 
during  the  revolutionary  war,  and  was  afterwards  a 
member  of  the  County  Court  of  Rockingham  so  long 
that  he  enjoyed  the  perquisites  of  the  sheriffalty  twice 
before  his  death. 

Sophia,  the  youngest  daughter  of  Thomas  Lewis, 
was  one  of  the  most  agreeable  of  all  the  kin,  and  as 
good  and  kind  as  she  was  witty.  She  married  John 
Carthrae,  a very  handsome,  wealthy  young  man,  who 
kept  so  busy  trading  through  all  his  life  that  he  died 
centless.  Their  daughter  Mary  married  Col.  Bank- 
head,  whose  first  wife  was  the  daughter  of  Col.  Tom 
Man  Randolph,  and  grand-daughter  of  Mr.  Jefferson. 

Andrew  Lewis,  second  son  of  John  Lewis,  became 
familiar  with  danger  and  accustomed  to  hardship  in 
early  life.  He  was  Major  of  the  regiment  commanded 
by  George  Washington,  whose  special  service  was  the 
defence  of  the  frontiers  of  Virginia  from  Indian  in- 
cursions. 

The  great  events  of  the  war  for  independence,  and 
their  glorious  results,  so  overshadowed  the  incidents 
of  the  immediately  preceding  Indian  war,  that  the 
hair-breadth  escapes,  daring  exploits,  and  fierce  en- 
counters of  the  officers  and  men  of  that  regiment, — the 
scalpings,  burnings,  and  horrid  massacres  of  the  Indi- 
ans, have  been  scarcely  noticed  in  history. 

For  ten  years  previous  to  actual  hostilities,  Great 
Britain  had  been  passing  laws  to  control  her  American 
colonies.  Lord  Dunmore,  a thorough  Scotch  tory,  and 
subtle  agent  of  its  will,  was  made  Governor  of  Vir- 
ginia. To  force  the  colonies  to  acquiesce  in  its  meas- 
ures, or  suppress  opposition,  Lord  Dunmore  contrived 
to  unite  the  western  Indians  in  a combined  attack 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


55 


upon  the  frontier  Irish  people,  who,  being  the  readiest 
to  resist  any  violation  of  the  liberties  of  the  colony, 
were  therefore  the  first  to  feel  the  weight  of  British 
domination.  When  troops  were  raised  by  the  colonial 
legislature  to  war  with  the  Indians,  he  put  himself  in 
command,  and  ordered  two  regiments,  composed  chiefly 
of  Western  Virginians,  to  the  most  exposed  part  of  the 
frontiers,  whilst  he  marched  the  disciplined  forces  in 
another  direction.  These  two  regiments  were  under 
the  command  of  Gen.  Andrew  Lewis.  They  reached 
the  Ohio  at  Point  Pleasant  the  1st  of  October,  11 74, 
where  they  encamped,  waiting  for  reinforcements.  On 
the  morning  of  the  10th,  they  were  attacked  by  the 
Western  Indians,  under  the  command  of  Logan,  Corn- 
stalk, and  other  distinguished  chiefs.  The  battle  lasted 
all  day,  the  officers  and  soldiers,  the  chiefs  and  warriors, 
fighting  hand  to  hand,  with  tomahawk  and  scalping- 
knife,  and  from  tree  to  tree,  with  rifles.  In  the  even- 
ing, whilst  the  contest  was  going  on  doubtfully,  Gen. 
Lewis  ordered  Capt.  Stuart,  Capt.  Mathews,  and  Capt 
Shelby  to  proceed  with  their  companies  up  the  Ohio 
under  cover  of  the  thick  undergrowth  near  its  banks, 
to  Crooked  Creek,  and  up  it  until  they  got  into  the 
rear  of  the  Indians,  and  then  to  attack  them.  This 
order  was  executed  so  successfully  that  the  Indians  were 
driven  across  the  Ohio.  Seventy-five  of  the  Virgini- 
ans were  killed,  and  one  hundred  and  forty  wounded. 
The  Indians  threw  their  killed  into  the  river,  so  that 
their  numbers  were  never  known.  Gen.  Lewis’s  army 
numbered  eleven  hundred ; the  Indians  were  proba- 
bly more  numerous. 

Gen.  Lewis  was  appointed  Brigadier  General  by 
the  Continental  Congress  in  the  war  for  independence. 
Capt.  Isaac  Shelby  was  made  Governor  of  Kentucky, 


56 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


and  Secretary  of  War  of  tlie  United  States.  Capt. 
Evans  Slielby,  Governor  of  Tennessee,  Capt.  William 
Campbell,  and  Jolm  Campbell,  became  famous  as  the 
heroes  of  Loner  Island  and  King’s  Mountain.  Andrew 
Moore  was  made  Senator  in  Congress,  and  Col.  William 
Fleming  Governor  of  Virginia.  Capts.  Stuart,  Came- 
ron, Tate,  McKee,  and  others,  were  also  honored  for 
their  meritorious  services  on  that  day. 

Andrew  Lewis  commanded  the  Virginia  troops  at 
the  commencement  of  the  revolutionary  war.  His  first 
important  service  was  to  drive  the  Scotch  Governor 
Dunmore  and  his  tory  adherents  from  the  State.  His 
military  service  was  afterwards  confined  to  the  defence 
of  the  country  bordering  on  the  Chesapeake  Bay.  His 
mountain  constitution  gave  way  from  the  unhealthiness 
of  the  climate.  He  resigned,  set  out  for  his  home,  but 
died  before  he  reached  it. 

John  Lewis,  the  son  of  Gen.  Andrew,  was  an 
officer  under  his  father  at  Grant’s  defeat.  He  was 
made  prisoner,  and  carried  to  Quebec,  and  from  thence 
to  France.  Upon  his  liberation,  he  went  to  London. 
His  very  tall,  erect,  handsome  person,  his  colonial  com- 
mission, and  suffering  as  a prisoner,  attracted  the  atten- 
tion of  royalty  sufficiently  to  procure  for  him  a com- 
mission in  the  British  army.  He  belonged  to  a corps 
stationed  near  London,  either  the  King’s  or  Queen’s 
Guards.  After  some  years  spent  in  acquiring  the  idle, 
dissipated  habits  of  the  corps  to  which  he  belonged,  he 
resigned  and  returned  to  Virginia.  Upon  his  arrival, 
in  Alexandria,  he  was  greeted  with  a splendid  balk 
Very  few  Virginians  had  been  honored  with  a com- 
mission in  the  regular  army  of  Great  Britain,  and  still 
fewer  had  been  permitted  to  serve  in  the  troops  which 
immediately  surrounded  royalty.  His  fine,  manly  per- 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


57 


sou,  aided  by  courtly  manners,  and  gallant  spirit,  cap- 
tivated Miss  Love,  the  most  dashing  belle  of  the  town. 
He  married,  and  carried  her  to  the  home  of  his  family 
in  the  valley  of  Virginia.  His  residence  abroad  had 
not  deprived  him  of  his  inclination  for  enterprise.  He 
settled  a farm  upon  the  extreme  of  the  Virginia  fron- 
tier. The  negroes  whom  he  carried  with  him,  found 
no  associates  in  that  western  wilderness,  and  were  con- 
stantly frightened  lest  they  should  be  massacred  by 
the  Indians,  or  eaten  up  by  the  bears,  panthers,  or 
wolves.  Whilst  at  work  with  their  master  in  the 
woods,  they  killed  him,  with  the  belief  that  their  mis- 
tress would  return  with  them  to  the  part  of  the  coun- 
try from  whence  they  had  come.  The  body  was  not 
discovered  for  some  days.  The  few  neighbors  who 
were  scattered  distantly  around  assembled  to  search 
for  it.  They  noticed  that  his  dog  absented  himself  for 
a day  or  two  before  he  returned  home  for  food.  They 
followed  his  lead  and  found  the  body  where  it  had 
been  covered  with  leaves,  and  guarded  from  the  wild 
beasts  by  his  dog. 

Charles  Lewis,  the  third  son  of  John  Lewis,  was  a 
noble  fellow;  generous,  gallant,  and  fearless.  He  was 
the  readiest  and  most  skilful  of  all  the  frontier  Indian 
fighters.  Once  he  was  captured  by  the  Indians  whilst 
on  a hunting  excursion.  After  some  days’  march,  and 
much  suffering  from  their  barbarous  treatment,  he 
effected  his  escape.  He  was  pursued  and  put  to  his 
utmost  speed  in  running.  Leaping  a prostrate  tree, 
which  lay  in  his  course,  he  fell.  Finding  himself  con- 
cealed by  the  tree,  the  grass,  and  weeds,  and  being 
very  much  exhausted,  he  determined  to  remain  still,  as 
he  was  just  then  out  of  sight  of  the  Indians.  His  pur- 
suers passed  by,  and  on.  When  he  ventured  to  look 


58 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


about,  lie  saw  a large  rattlesnake  in  liis  coil,  within 
striking  distance  of  his  ear.  He  scarcely  breathed  lest 
the  movement  might  bring  the  fatal  stroke.  His  sus- 
pended breath  got  relief  after  a while  by  the  rattle- 
snake slowly  uncoiling  himself  and  moving  away. 

Charles  Lewis  commanded  a regiment  at  the  battle 
of  the  Point.  He  led  in  the  onset  upon  the  Indians. 
To  encourage  his  men  to  deeds  of  daring  in  the  fight, 
he  showed  them  his  own  indifference  to  danger  by  put- 
ting on  a red  waistcoat  and  exposing  himself  every 
where.  His  heroism  cost  him  his  life.  Virginia  per- 
petuated its  remembrance  by  naming  a county  after 
him.  His  daughter  wrote  a song  descriptive  of  the 
battle,  which  was  sung  as  long  as  Indians  and  their 
warfare  continued  subjects  of  interest. 

Many  Charles  Lewises  are  still  to  be  found  among 
the  descendants  of  the  Western  Virginians,  named  in 
memory  of  the  brave  man  who  died  in  defence  of  their 
mothers. 

William  Lewis,  the  fourth  son  of  John  Lewis, 
though  as  powerful  in  person  and  brave  in  spirit  as 
either  of  his  brothers,  was  less  disposed  to  seek  fame 
by  the  sacrifice  of  human  life.  He  served  in  the  army 
only  when  required.  He  was  an  officer  under  Brad- 
dock,  and  was  wounded  at  his  defeat.  He  was  an  elder 
in  the  Presbyterian  Church,  of  the  old  covenanting 
sort.  His  son  Tom  was  an  officer  in  Wayne’s  army, 
of  high  reputation  for  soldierly  conduct.  Soon  after 
his  return  home  from  service,  he  saw,  on  a Sunday 
morning,  wild  ducks  in  the  Sweet  Spring  Creek,  which 
ran  near  his  father’s  house.  Taking  a loaded  gun  in 
his  hand,  he  crept  along  a zigzag  fence  until  he  got 
within  shooting  distance,  and  was  about  to  fire,  when 
he  felt  the  forcible  application  of  a large  brush  to  his 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


59 


shoulders.  Turning  suddenly  round  to  return  the 
blow,  he  saw  descending  a second  stroke,  and  heard 
from  his  father,  “ I will  teach  you,  sir,  that  you  shall 
not  profane  the  Sabbath  day  here  ! ” 

William  Lewis’s  wife,  was  Ann  Montgomery. 

Among  the  stories  told  for  a long  time  after  the 
dispersion  of  the  Virginia  Legislature,  at  Charlottesville, 
by  Col.  Tarleton  and  his  dragoons,  was  one,  that  Mr. 
Jefferson  concealed  himself  in  Cartres  mountain,  and 
another,  that  Patrick  Ilenry,  flying  in  the  greatest  tre- 
pidation, met  Mr.  William  Lewis  in  the  streets  of 
Staunton,  who,  upon  hearing  him  tell  of  the  breaking 
up  of  the  Legislature,  said  to  him,  without  knowing 
who  he  was,  that  if  the  great  Patrick  Henry  had  been 
there,  the  British  never  would  have  crossed  the 
Rivannali  river.  William  Lends  was  sick  in  bed  at  the 
time.  His  wife  immediately  called  her  three  sons,  the 
oldest  of  whom  was  under  one  and  twenty,  ordered 
them  to  take  their  rifles,  be  off  immediately  to  Rock- 
fish  Gap,  and  see  to  it,  that  the  valley  was  not  polluted 
by  the  foot  of  a British  soldier.  Tradition  still  tells 
many  stories  of  the  stern  pure  life  of  William  Lewis, 
and  the  admirable  qualities  of  his  wife.  Their  union, 
commencing  in  love,  continued  to  grow  closer  and 
closer,  as  they  drew  nearer  and  nearer  to  the  end  of  life. 
They  lived  to  be  old  people.  Mrs.  William  Lewis  died 
first.  From  his  wife’s  death,  until  his  own  approached 
nigh,  he  went  every  day  to  her  grave,  where,  seated  by 
its  side,  he  read  the  Bible. 

Their  oldest  son,  John,  was  an  officer  in  the  revolu- 
tionary war,  and  commanded  a company  at  the  battle 
of  Monmouth.  He  was  reputed  to  be  the  most 
athletic  man  in  Virginia.  He  threw  down  and  out- 
jumped  Andrew  Jackson  until  the  future  hero  had  the 
greatest  admiration  for  him. 


60 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


He  once  visited  his  son-in-law  Mr.  Thompson,  who 
lived  in  the  low  country  of  South  Carolina,  where 
bullfrogs  abound.  He  mentioned  jocularly  in  a com- 
pany of  aristocratic  gentlemen,  that  he  had  seen  a frog 
six  feet  long  in  the  mountains  of  Virginia,  alluding  to 
John  Frog,  who  married  his  cousin.  He  was  insulted 
by  a very  rude  remark,  for  which  his  fighting  Irish 
spirit  required  ample  amends.  He  married  Mary 
Preston,  sister  of  Gov.  Preston  and  aunt  of  Gov. 
McDowell  and  of  Gov.  Floyd.  One  of  his  daughters 
married  Dr.  Trent,  of  Cumberland,  whose  daughter 
married  Judge  Robertson,  of  Richmond,  a descendant 
of  the  Princess  Pocahontas. 

William  Lewis’s  son,  William  T.  Lewis,  married 
Miss  Cabell,  was  a member  of  Congress,  and  only  wanted 
a vote  or  two  of  being  elected  Governor  of  Virginia. 


THE  STROTHERS. 

The  Strothers  emigrated  from  England  to  Vir- 
ginia in  the  early  times  of  the  colony.  One  of  them, 
who  died  thirty  years  ago,  and  was  then  near  a hun- 
dred years  old,  used  to  say,  that  she  could  trace  her 
descent  through  five  Virginia  grandmothers  in  a direct 
line.  They  were  connected  by  blood  and  marriage, 
with  many  of  the  most  respectable  families  of  Virginia ; 
have  been  distinguished  for  courage  and  talents;  been 
members  of  the  State  Legislature,  officers  of  the  army 
and  members  of  Congress.  The  first  whig  who  died  in 
the  cause  of  liberty  in  Georgia  was  a Strother.  Wil- 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


61 


liam  Strother,  of  Stafford,  and  his  wife  Margaret 
Watts,  had  thirteen  children,  all  daughters. 

Jane,  their  oldest  daughter,  married  Thomas  Lewis, 
my  grandfather. 

Margaret  married  Mr.  Morton,  a gentleman  of 
fortune,  who  dying  soon  after,  left  her  a young  wealthy 
widow,  unincumbered  with  children.  Her  second 
husband  was  Gabriel  Jones,  a well  educated  Welsh- 
man, the  friend,  kinsman,  and  executor  of  Lord  Fair- 
fax. His  residence  was  in  the  valley  of  Virginia,  on 
the  Shenandoah  River,  in  view  of  mountains  in  every 
direction,  upon  a farm  of  great  fertility  and  extent,  ad- 
joining the  farms  of  his  three  brothers-in-law,  Thomas 
Lewis,  John  Madison,  and  John  Frog,  and  his  friend 
Peachy  R.  Gilmer.  He  was  the  most  distinguished 
lawyer  of  New  Virginia.  He  was  a member  of  the  Con- 
vention which  ratified  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States.  He  left  a large  estate  to  his  descendants. 
Mrs.  Jones  lived  to  the  extended  age  of  ninety-seven 
years,  and  passed  that  long  time  in  the  uniform  and 
exemplary  discharge  of  all  the  duties  of  her  elevated 
position  in  society.  Her  daughter  Margaret  married 
Col.  John  Harvie. 

The  political  contests,  in  the  times  of  James  the 
First,  Charles,  Cromwell,  and  their  immediate  succes- 
sors, induced  a great  many  of  the  gentry  of  Great 
Britain  and  Ireland,  to  make  the  colony  of  Virginia 
their  permanent  abode.  They  formed  many  of  the  in- 
stitutions of  the  colony,  modelled  its  laws,  and  fashion- 
ed its  society.  The  fees  upon  the  grants  of  the  rich 
alluvial  lands  on  the  rivers,  were  made  so  high,  that 
only  those  who  had  property  could  acquire  them ; and 
were,  as  intended,  monopolized  by  the  rich.  The  in- 
troduction of  African  slaves,  increased  the  separation 


62  FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 

between  the  wealthy,  who  owned  them,  and  the  poor, 
who  had  none,  and  thus  added  to  the  aristocratic  state 
and  temper  of  the  highest  class.  British  policy  placed 
the  control  of  the  colonial  government  in  the  same 
class.  With  the  selfishness  which  has  ever  distinguish- 
ed it,  the  aristocracy  of  the  colony  made  all  the  offices 
which  gentlemen  would  accept,  very  lucrative,  and 
retained  the  disposition  of  them  in  its  own  hands. 

Whilst  Mr.  Jefferson  was  Governor  of  Virginia, 
he  used  his  influence  to  have  Harvie  of  Albemarle,  his 
neighbor  and  friend,  appointed  Register  of  the  land 
office,  one  of  the  most  lucrative  offices  of  the  State. 

The  high  salaries  attached  to  the  most  important 
offices  of  the  government  of  Virginia,  and  the  wealth 
and  cultivation  of  the  incumbents,  made  clerkships 
under  them  the  most  improving  school  for  the  young 
gentlemen  of  the  country;  the  best  introduction  to 
fashionable  society ; and  the  most  desirable  means  of 
acquiring  knowledge  of  business.  Indeed,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  William  and  Mary  College,  there  were  no 
others  well  suited  for  that  purpose. 

Col.  Harvie  received  into  the  Register’s  office  a 
young  gentleman  by  the  name  of  Marshall,  who  proved 
so  acceptable,  that  he  very  soon  became  domesticated 
in  his  family. 

Gabriella  Harvie,  Col.  Harvie’s  oldest  daughter, 
was  too  young  when  Marshall  became  a member  of 
her  father’s  family,  to  be  distrustful  in  her  association 
with  gentlemen.  She  charmed  him  by  her  sprightli- 
ness, whilst  he  engaged  her  regard,  by  many  little 
flattering  attentions  and  kindnesses,  and  especially  by 
talking  to  her  about  what  she  read ; her  vivid  imagina- 
tion making  realizations  of  the  heroes  and  heroines  of 
romance.  The  intimacy  between  Marshall  and  Ga- 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


68 


briella  Harvie  remained  unrestrained,  until  the  young 
miss  became  a captivating  woman.  Before  she  or 
Marshall  were  aware  of  it,  the  cords  of  love  had  bound 
their  hearts  together  so  strong,  that  old  time  himself 
found  the  tie  hard  to  loosen.  Afterwards  Gabriella 
Harvie’s  quick  grey  eyes,  en  bon  point  person,  and 
sprightly  elastic  step,  attracted  the  admiration  of  Col. 
Tom  Man  Randolph,  of  Tuckahoe,  and  so  revived  in 
the  old  gentleman  the  feelings  of  youth,  that  though 
then  a widower,  with  children  and  grandchildren, 
he  asked  Col.  Harvie  for  his  daughter  in  marriage. 
Col.  Randolph  was  a descendant  of  the  Princess  Poca- 
hontas, the  head  of  one  of  the  most  aristocratic 
families  in  Virginia,  and  as  distinguished  for  wealth, 
as  nobility.  Col.  Harvie  was  a gentleman  of  high 
character,  proud  bearing,  and  otherwise  distinguish- 
ed among  his  countrymen.  Mrs.  Harvie  inherited 
from  her  Welsh  father  a high  appreciation  of  rank 
and  fortune.  Both  Col.  and  Mrs.  Harvie  were  ex- 
ceedingly gratified  with  Col.  Randolph’s  proposal, 
and  accepted  it  unhesitatingly  for  their  daughter. 
When  Gabriella  was  informed  by  them  that  they  had 
provided  a husband  for  her,  whose  greatness  would 
make  her  the  first  lady  of  the  land,  she  surprised  and 
offended  them  beyond  measure  by  her  prompt  refusal 
of  the  proffered  honor.  Marshall  had  not  proposed 
marriage  to  Gabriella  Harvie  when  Col.  Randolph 
made  the  offer  of  his  hand.  He  had  not  even  declared 
in  words  how  much  he  loved  her.  Indeed,  neither 
were  perhaps  aware  until  the  trial  came  of  the  state  of 
their  feelings.  When  Gabriella  reported  to  him  what 
had  passed  between  her  parents  and  herself  upon  the 
subject  of  Col.  Randolph’s  suit,  they  found  themselves 
in  each  other’s  arms,  plighting  their  love  for  life.  Ga- 


64 


FIKST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


briella’s  ingenuous  noble  nature  prompted  her  at  once 
to  inform  her  father  and  mother  of  what  had  passed 
between  Marshall  and  herself.  The  prospect  of  the 
marriage  of  their  daughter  with  Col.  Randolph  was 
too  gratifying  to  yield  up  its  indulgence  willingly. 
They  insisted  that  the  marriage  should  take  place. 
People  of  the  present  day  know  but  little  of  the  strong 
rule  which  parents  exercised  over  their  children  in  the 
Old  Dominion  in  former  times.  It  is  yet  strong.  But 
it  was  then  as  strong  as  it  had  ever  been  in  Old  Eng- 
land. Gabriella  and  Marshall  were  at  once  hopeless. 
Marshall  was  under  so  many  obligations  to  Col.  and 
Mrs.  Harvie,  that  he  would  not  attempt  to  marry  their 
daughter  against  their  will.  Believing  that  his  duty 
to  them  demanded  that  his  engagement  to  their  daugh- 
ter should  cease,  and  that  his  and  Gabriel  la’s  happiness 
required  that  they  should  not  continue  to  see  each 
other,  he  left  Virginia  for  a foreign  land.  The  young 
lady’s  high  spirit  would  have  prompted  to  a different 
course.  But  it  was  not  for  her  to  act  or  direct  on  such 
an  occasion.  Her  self-esteem  was  offended  at  the  tame 
submission  of  her  lover.  She  felt  that  in  justice  to 
herself,  she  ought  to  forget  him  who  had  deserted  her 
and  his  country.  Anger  and  pride  made  her  desire  to 
show  that  she  was  above  repining.  So,  after  sighing 
and  crying  had  taken  the  color  from  her  cheeks,  and 
the  usual  cheerful  smile  from  her  countenance,  she 
ended  by  doing  as  she  was  bid,  going  through  the 
ceremony  of  marriage  with  Col.  Randolph.  Col.  Harvie, 
though  prompt  in  accepting  Col.  Randolph’s  proposals, 
and  firm  in  insisting  upon  his  daughter’s  compliance 
with  his  wishes,  took  care  that  she  was  well  provided 
for  by  a marriage  contract.  Col.  Randolph  settled 
most  of  his  large  estate  upon  his  affianced  bride  and 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


65 


her  issue,  to  the  exclusion  of  liis  children  by  his  pre- 
vious marriage.  The  old  fancy-stricken  widower  be- 
came the  husband  of  the  high-spirited,  gay,  beautiful 
young  lady  of  eighteen.  Marriage  is  a capital  alembic 
for  testing  the  nature  and  value  of  the  materials  of 
which  the  parties  are  made.  Col.  Randolph  was  soon 
the  same  proud,  irritable  old  man  which  he  had  been 
before  his  excited  imagination  made  him  feel  young 
and  courteous.  Mrs.  Randolph  underwent  a meta- 
morphis  greater,  if  possible,  than  her  husband.  The 
haughty  pride  which  she  inherited  from  her  lordly- 
descended  Welsh  grandfather,  and  her  old  Virginia 
aristocratic  grandmother,  which  had  been  suppressed 
before  by  her  laughing,  joyous  temper,  and  her  kind, 
social  affections,  now  became  conspicuous  in  her  inter- 
course with  her  husband,  and  his  own  special  associates. 
Love  and  its  kindred  feelings  had  their  place  supplied 
by  ostentation  and  fashionable  employments.  Her 
husband,  having  married  her  without  seeking  her  re- 
gard, obtained  what  usually  follows  marriage  without 
love  between  parties  of  unsuitable  age.  The  pleasures 
of  society  soon  engrossed  all  her  time.  Her  house, 
furniture,  carriage,  horses,  servants,  dress,  and  other 
paraphernalia  were  the  most  splendid  in  Virginia. 
They  were  put  into  constant  requisition.  Her  vivacity 
and  intelligence  attracted  around  her  at  home,  and 
wherever  she  appeared,  a coterie  of  the  choicest  wits 
and  most  agreeable  gentlemen  of  the  country.  Those 
who  knew  but  little  of  her  character,  and  envied  her 
rank  and  fortune,  sometimes  vented  their  malice  in 
slanderous  tittle-tattle.  Her  pride  and  conscious  purity 
made  her  despise  all  aspersions.  The  great  orator,  John 
Randolph,  was  the  special  admirer  of  his  kinsman’s  wife. 
He  knew  too  well  the  extent  of  the  sacrifice  which  she 


66 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


had  made  in  marriage  to  condemn  her  for  not  feigning 
love  for  her  husband.  Whilst  Mrs.  Randolph  was 
entertaining  company  by  her  pleasantry,  wit,  and 
literary  taste,  her  husband  was  often  heard  complain- 
ing of  his  want  of  enjoyment.  The  agreeable  social 
qualities  of  the  wife  added  but  little  to  his  happiness. 
He  fretted  and  fumed  until  he  exhausted  the  little  of 
life  that  was  in  him. 

The  luxuries  supplied  by  great  wealth,  the  habits 
of  fashionable  life,  and  the  constant  intercourse  with 
the  most  intelligent  and  refined  society,  created  other 
tastes  and  desires  in  Mrs.  Randolph  than  those  which 
she  enjoyed  when  Gabriella  Harvie.  When  Marshall 
heard  that  Mrs.  Randolph  was  a widow,  and  at  liberty 
to  follow  her  own  inclination  in  marriage,  he  hastened 
to  see  her.  He  addressed  her  at  once  upon  the  sub- 
ject which  had  been  so  mutually  interesting  to  them 
when  they  parted.  He  was  mortified  beyond  measure 
at  the  apparent  indifference  with  which  he  was  listened 
to.  When  he  pressed  Mrs.  Randolph  to  be  his  wife, 
he  received  an  evasive  answer.  The  widow  had  yet 
fresh  in  memory  the  miseries  she  had  suffered  from 
wedlock.  She  was  not  then  tired  of  being  freed  from 
them.  She  wanted  to  lose  sight  of  the  phantasmagoria 
which  she  had  been  seeing  before  she  tried  the  state  a 
second  time.  Her  acquired  waywardness  added  to 
her  disposition  to  delay  indulging  in  what  her  heart 
panted  after.  Marshall,  overcome  by  the  apparent 
indifference  of  her  whom  he  had  loved  so  long  and  so 
devotedly,  and  misunderstanding  the  influences  which 
controlled  her  conduct,  quitted  her  for  ever.  When 
Mrs.  Randolph  next  heard  of  him  he  was  married. 
She  had  suffered  the  deepest  mortification  from  his 
abrupt  departure.  She  was  conscious  that  she  had 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


67 


trifled  with  his  constancy  and  her  own  hopes  of  hap- 
piness. But  when  she  heard  of  his  marriage,  though 
she  suffered  intensely  for  a short  time,  she  was  soon 
herself  again. 

Mrs.  Randolph  was  yet  young  and  charming  when 
she  acquired  the  right  to  dispose  of  herself  according 
to  her  own  will.  Her  wealth  and  rare  accomplish- 
ments soon  attracted  suitors.  Her  experience  enabled 
her  to  know  the  folly  of  making  rank  and  fortune  the 
sole  inducements  in  selecting  a husband.  She  had 
convinced  herself  that  fashionable  gayeties  afforded  but 
transient  amusement.  She  determined  to  marry  the 
man  of  her  choice,  and  to  choose  him  for  qualities 
winch,  would  command  her  respect.  From  among  her 
many  admirers  she  suited  herself  by  accepting  Dr. 
Brokenbough,  whose  sound  sense,  high  reputation, 
excellent  character,  and  social  qualities,  answered  the 
description  she  had  made  of  him  who  was  to  be  her 
second  husband.  His  proper  appreciation  of  her 
character  and  worth  pleased  her  self-esteem,  and  his 
merits  secured  her  regard. 

Dr.  Brokenbough,  after  acting  for  a long  time  as 
president  of  one  of  the  banks  of  Virginia,  and  living 
with  his  wife  in  a style  fitting  their  fortune,  found 
himself  ruined  by  the  indebtedness  which  he  had  in- 
curred for  his  social  and  political  friends.  He  expected 
to  feel  the  disgrace  of  being  unable  to  pay  his  debts. 
He  would  not  ask  his  wife  to  sacrifice  her  property 
and  accustomed  enjoyments.  He  had  not  then  learned 
to  understand  fully  her  noble  nature.  She  required 
no  asking.  She  parted  wdth  her  fine  house,  furniture, 
plate,  carriage  and  horses,  and  as  much  of  her  other 
property  as  saved  his  honor.  Dr.  Brokenbough  kept 
the  Warm  Springs  and  the  lauds  about  it.  Mrs.  Bro- 


68 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


kenbough  would  not  part  with  her  family  negroes. 
With  the  profits  arising  from  this  most  delightful 
bathing-place  in  the  United  States,  they  passed  their 
old  age  in  easy  competence  and  social  enjoyments. 
The  Doctor  was  a kind  and  considerate  husband,  and 
Mrs.  Brokenbough  the  most  cheerful  and  agreeable 
wife. 

How  short-sighted  are  the  most  knowing,  when 
they  see  objects  through  their  selfishness  ! How 
greatly  mistaken  the  old,  when  they  disregard  the 
wishes  and  judgment  of  their  children  to  acquire  for 
them  and  themselves  distinction  by  their  marriage  ! 
Riches  and  rank  often  take  wings  and  fly  away.  Re- 
ciprocal love,  founded  upon  congeniality  of  temper, 
taste,  and  character,  never  does. 

Among  the  inducements  which  Col.  Harvie  had  for 
inattention  to  his  daughter’s  attachment  for  Marshall, 
by  marrying  her  to  Col.  Randolph,  was  the  greatness 
of  Col.  Randolph’s  family.  His  son,  Thomas  Man 
Randolph,  was  married  to  Mr.  Jefferson’s  daughter. 
Mr.  Jefferson  had  been  Governor  of  Virginia,  Minister 
of  the  Confederation  at  the  Court  of  France,  and  was 
then  Secretary  of  State  under  Gen.  Washington. 
Peyton  Randolph  had  been  President  of  the  Congress 
of  the  Confederation,  and  Edmund  Randolph  was  then 
one  of  the  distinguished  men  of  Virginia,  and  had  been 
President  Washington’s  Attorney-general.  Mrs.  Brok- 
enbough lived  to  know  that  Mr.  Jefferson  died  insol- 
vent, after  obtaining  from  Virginia  the  authority  of 
law  to  acquire  money  to  pay  his  debts,  by  a lottery  or 
gaming  scheme.  Col.  Thomas  Man  Randolph,  Mr.  Jef- 
ferson’s son-in-law,  and  the  son  of  Mrs.  Brokenbough’s 
first  husband,  after  being  a distinguished  Member  of 
Congress,  became  so  pennyless  as  to  propose  to  eke  out 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


69 


Ms  little  means  of  support  in  bis  last  days  by  the  trans- 
lation of  a book  in  French  on  the  cultivation  of  the 
vine.  Mrs.  Randolph,  Mr.  Jefferson’s  daughter,  had 
her  wants  supplied  by  the  liberality  of  the  State  of 
South  Carolina  and  of  Congress.  Edmund  Randolph 
was  reduced  to  the  necessity,  in  his  old  age,  of  prac- 
tising law  for  whatever  fees  he  could  get. 

The  following  extract  of  a letter  received  from  Dr. 
Brokenbough,  on  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  may  add 
value  to  it : — 

“ Col.  Harvie,  in  early  life,  became  a successful  lawyer  in  the 
County  of  Albemarle ; then  a delegate  in  the  Virginia  House  of 
Burgesses;  and  was  appointed,  jointly  with  Mr.  John  Walker, 
a commissioner  to  treat  with  the  Indians  at  Fort  Pitt.  On  his 
return,  he  wras  chosen  a member  of  the  old  Congress,  and  re- 
mained in  that  place  until  he  was  elected  Register  of  the  Land 
Office  of  the  Commonwealth — then  a very  laborious,  but  a very 
lucrative  office — which  he  held  several  years  ; and,  after  his  re- 
signation, was  elected  by  the  City  of  Richmond  a member  of  the 
House  of  Delegates,  but  only  served  one  or  two  years,  when  he 
retired  to  private  life,  and  died  at  his  seat,  Belvidere,  near  Rich- 
mond, in  the  year  1 807,  leaving  a family  of  seven  children,  of 
whom  none  remain  but  Hen.  Jaqueline  Harvie  and  Mrs.  Brok- 
enbough. now  in  the  7 8th  year  of  her  age. 

u Mr.  Jones,  as  you  know,  was  a very  distinguished  and  in- 
fluential lawyer  in  Western  Virginia.  Mrs.  Jones,  who  survived 
her  husband  many  years,  was  a most  exemplary  woman  in  all  the 
relations  of  life.  She  possessed  a fine  mind,  was  well  informed, 
benevolent,  charitable,  and  pious.  All  who  knew  her  loved  and 
respected  her. 

“ Col.  Harvie’s  son  Lewis  died  young,  after  exciting  in  his 
friends  the  strongest  hopes  of  his  success. 

“ Col.  Harvie’s  son  John  married  his  cousin  Miss  Hawkins. 
He  was  a man  of  education  and  accomplished  manners. 

u His  son  General  Jaqueline  Harvie  married  the  only  daugh- 
ter of  Chief  J ustice  Marshall. 


70 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


“ His  son  Edwin  married  Miss  ILardeway.  He  died  from 
injuries  received  from  the  burning  of  the  Richmond  theatre.  He 
left  two  sons,  who  are  gentlemen  of  merit  and  distinction. 

“ Mrs.  John  Harvie  survived  her  husband  many  years.  Her 
family  were  among  the  principal  sufferers  from  the  burning  of 
the  Richmond  theatre  in  1811 . 

“ Mrs.  Jones’s  daughter married  John  Lewis,  a distin- 

guished lawyer  of  Fredericksburg,  whose  brother  married  Betty, 
the  sister  of  General  Washington. 

“ Another  daughter  of  Mrs.  Jones  married Hawkins. 

They  removed  to  Kentucky. 

“ Strother  Jones,  the  only  son  of  Mrs.  Jones,  was  an  officer 
in  the  revolutionary  war.  He  died  young,  leaving  one  son,  who 
married  Miss  Marshall,  a niece  of  Chief  Justice  Marshall,  a most 
charming  woman.” 

Agatha  Strother,  sister  of  my  grandmother,  Mrs. 
Thomas  Lewis,  and  of  Mrs.  Gabriel  Jones,  married  John 
Madison,  who  held  the  clerkship  of  Augusta  County, 
then  one  of  the  most  profitable  offices  of  Virginia.  He 
was  distinguished  among  other  qualities  for  his  love  of 
practical  jokes.  An  Irish  showman,  by  the  name  of 
Curry,  once  obtained  his  permission  to  exhibit  his  per- 
formances in  the  Court  House  in  Staunton.  Whilst 
Curry  was  taking  his  supper,  and  before  the  company 
assembled  to  witness  his  exploits,  John  Madison  placed 
a pile  of  powder  under  the  table  upon  which  Curry 
was  to  stand,  and  laid  a train  from  it  to  his  office.  Just 
as  he  Avas  exhibiting  the  Devil — his  phiz,  tail,  claws, 
and  cloven  foot — the  train  Avas  fired.  It  blowed  the 
poor  devil  Curry  sky  high,  and  made  the  lookers  on 
imagine  that  Old  Nick  was  actually  present  in  propria 
persona.  John  Curry’s  descendants  still  acknowledge 
their  obligations  to  John  Madison  for  making  a good 
citizen  of  their  mountebank  ancestor.  Col.  Frog  was 
well  known  for  his  sivelling  agricultural  pretensions. 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


71 


John  Madison,  who  was  his  brother-in-law,  procured 
from  his  Low  Country  friends  a large  quantity  of  the 
seed  of  the  Jamestown  weed,  which  he  presented  to 
Col.  Frog  for  clover  seed.  He  sowed  them  upon  his 
richest  Shenandoah  bottom-land,  and,  for  some  days  af- 
ter they  came  up,  exultingly  exhibited  the  product  of 
his  field  as  the  broadest-leaf  clover  that  had  ever  been 
seen. 

John  Madison’s  son  James  was  a churchman  of  ac- 
complished education,  and  for  a long  time  President  of 
William  and  Mary  College.  He  was  appointed  Bishop 
of  Virginia.  He  went  to  England  to  receive  the  inves- 
titure of  that  dignity.  Upon  being  presented  to  the 
King,  then  George  the  Third,  as  a Virginian  who  had 
come  across  the  Atlantic  to  receive  the  Bishop’s  ring, 
he  cried  out  in  wonder,  “ What ! what ! what ! ” as  hu- 
morously described  by  Peter  Pindar. 

Mrs.  Madison’s  son  George  removed  to  the  State  of 
Kentucky.  He  commanded  a battalion  in  the  cam- 
paign against  the  British  and  Indians  in  1812-13. 
When  Winchester  was  defeated,  he  and  his  battalion 
stood  their  ground,  and  continued  fighting  until  long 
after  all  others  of  the  army  had  surrendered  or  been 
dispersed.  He  was  afterwards  Governor  of  Kentucky. 

One  of  John  Madison’s  sons  married  the  daughter 
of  the  great  orator,  Patrick  Henry;  another,  Miss 
Preston,  the  kinswoman  of  William  C.  Preston,  the 
eloquent  senator  of  South  Carolina,  and  lately  President 
of  Columbia  College.  Roland,  another  son,  married 
the  daughter  of  Gen.  Andrew  Lewis,  and  was  the 
father  of  Captain  Madison,  of  the  United  States  Army. 

Miss  Madison,  granddaughter  of  Mrs.  John  Madi- 
son, married  Howe  Peyton,  a distinguished  lawyer  of 
Western  Virginia. 


72 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


The  Lewises,  Strothers,  and  Madisons,  are  gone 
hither  and  thither,  and  most  of  their  large  landed 
estates  into  other  hands.  General  Samuel  Lewis  and 
his  sons  still  own  and  occupy  a part  of  the  large  tract 
which  belonged  to  Thomas  Lewis,  our  common  grand- 
father. He  has  removed  from  the  house  in  which  his 
father,  Col.  Charles  Lewis,  my  mother,  and  himself 
were  born,  to  a handsome  brick  edifice,  which  he  has 
built  about  half  a mile  distant,  on  the  first  elevation 
from  the  Shenandoah  towards  the  Blue  Ridge  Moun- 
tains. He  has  surrounded  it  with  orchards  and  mea- 
dows. The  view  from  the  front  portico  takes  in  the 
course  of  the  river,  numerous  fertile  fields,  and  extend- 
ed elevated  mountains.  When  the  painter’s  art  does 
justice  to  the  beautiful  and  sublime  scenery  of  the 
romantic  valley  of  the  Shenandoah,  this  place  will  be- 
come celebrated  as  one  of  the  most  desirable  in  our 
country. 

General  Lewis  married,  when  a youth,  his  cousin,  a 
daughter  of  John  Lewis,  of  Bath.  His  wife’s  mother 
had  so  many  children,  that  she  counted  them  at  night 
when  she  put  them  to  bed,  to  be  certain  that  none  had 
been  eaten  by  the  bears  during  the  day.  They  num- 
bered fifteen. 

After  the  death  of  his  first  wife,  General  Lewis 
married  Miss  Lomax,  the  daughter  of  Judge  Lomax. 
He  has  filled  his  house  with  children.  One  of  his  sons 
by  his  first  wife  has  married  a daughter  of  Daniel 
Sheffey,  the  great  genius  of  Western  Virginia. 

General  Lewis  is  a man  of  talent,  education,  and 
general  information.  He  has  represented  Rockingham 
County  in  the  Legislature,  been  for  a long  time  a mem- 
ber of  the  County  Court,  and  is  now  its  President. 

His  tall  person,  marked  features,  florid  complexion, 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


73 


ardent  temper,  and  fearless  spirit,  prove  him  to  be  a 
true  scion  from  the  old  Irish  Lewis  stock. 


JOHN  MATHEWS. 

John  Mathews  with  many  others  of  his  country- 
men, emigrated  from  Ireland  to  Western  Virginia, 
about  the  year  1737,  in  pursuance  of  the  advice  of 
John  Lewis,  who  had  located  himself  some  years  be- 
fore, in  the  neighborhood  of  Staunton.  His  son 
George  was  yet  a youth,  when  lie  became  familiar 
with  danger,  from  constant  contact  with  the  wild 
beasts,  and  savage  men  of  the  forest.  The  Indians 
west  of  the  Ohio  River,  the  most  warlike  of  all  the 
aborigines  of  America,  carried  on  a predatory  and 
scalping  warfare  against  the  British  colonies  from  1754 
to  1763.  George  Mathews  was  ever  ready  for  any 
foray,  in  resisting,  attacking,  and  pursuing  them. 

In  1761,  a family  not  far  from  his  father’s  residence 
was  massacred.  He  and  two  or  three  youths,  sup- 
posing from  the  firing  that  there  was  a shooting  match 
at  the  place,  went  to  join  in  the  sport.  Upon  riding 
up,  they  saw  dead  bodies  lying  in  the  yard.  Per- 
ceiving at  once  their  mistake,  they  turned  their  homes 
and  fled.  The  Indians  rose  from  their  concealment, 
and  fired  their  rifles  at  them,  as  they  passed  in  full 
speed.  A ball  grazed  the  head  of  George  Mathews,  so 
as  to  cut  off  his  cue.  Stimulated  by  the  danger  he 
had  escaped,  and  the  murder  of  his  neighbors,  he  col- 
lected a party,  put  himself  at  their  head,  pursued  the 
Indians,  overtook  them,  and  killed  nine.  At  the  great 


74 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


battle  of  the  Point,  he  commanded  a company,  and 
contributed  much  by  his  bravery  and  military  skill,  to 
the  victory  gained  by  the  Virginians  over  the  Indians. 
The  fighting  commenced  at  sunrise,  and  had  continued 
until  evening  without  any  decided  advantage ; when 
Capt.  Mathews,  Capt.  Shelby  and  Capt.  Stuart,  with- 
drew with  their  companies  from  the  fighting,  out  of 
sight  of  the  combatants,  got  into  the  bed  of  Crooked 
Creek,  then  very  low  in  water,  and  concealed  by  the 
banks,  obtained  a position  in  the  rear  of  the  Indians, 
from  whence  they  attacked  them  so  unexpectedly,  that 
they  succeeded  in  driving  them  across  the  Ohio. 

Soon  after  the  commencement  of  the  Kevolutionary 
war,  George  Mathews  received  substantial  proofs  of 
the  high  estimation  in  which  he  was  held  by  his  coun- 
trymen, for  the  efficient  services  he  had  rendered  the 
frontier  people.  He  was,  in  1775,  appointed  Lieut. 
Colonel  of  the  Ninth  regiment  of  the  Virginia  troops  : 
and  was  soon  after,  with  his  regiment,  placed  by  Con- 
gress on  the  continental  establishment.  For  near  two 
years,  he  and  his  regiment  were  stationed  on  the 
Chesapeake  Bay,  under  the  command  of  Gen.  Andrew 
Lewis.  The  malaria  proved  more  destructive  of  the 
mountain  men  and  their  officers,  than  the  rifles  of  the 
enemy. 

General  Washington  knew  well  the  value  of  Col. 
Mathews  as  an  officer ; his  own  knowledge  of  war, 
having  been  principally  acquired  on  the  frontiers  of 
Virginia,  fighting  Indians.  When  the  contest  with 
the  mother  country  became  a war  for  life  and  liberty 
in  earnest,  he  ordered  Col.  Mathews  to  join  the  main 
army.  Col.  Mathews  did  good  service  at  the  battle  of 
Brandywine.  At  the  battle  of  Germantown,  he  attack- 
ed witli  his  regiment,  the  British  troops  immediately 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


75 


opposed  to  him,  pushed  them  triumphantly  back,  and 
had  just  captured  them,  when  h and  his  command 
became  so  embarrassed  by  the  density  of  the  fog  which 
enveloped  the  place,  that  in  the  confusion  which  fol- 
lowed, he  was  attacked,  knocked  down,  and  a bayonet 
driven  through  his  body.  He  was  made  prisoner,  sent 
to  the  British  prison  ship  in  the  harbor  of  Hew  York, 
where  he  was  confined  for  a Ions’  time,  and  suffered 
cruelties  and  deprivations,  which  British  officers  never 
impose,  except  upon  offending  rebels.  He  appealed  to 
his  government  for  relief.  Mr.  Jefferson,  then  Gover- 
nor of  Virginia,  wrote  to  him  : “ We  know  that  the 
ardent  spirit  and  hatred  of  tyranny  which  brought  you 
into  your  present  situation,  will  enable  you  to  bear  up 
against  it,  with  the  firmness  which  has  distinguished 
you  as  a soldier,  and  to  look  forward  with  pleasure  to 
the  day,  when  events  shall  take  place,  against  which 
the  wounded  spirits  of  your  enemies  will  find  no  com- 
fort, even  from  reflections  on  the  most  refined  of  the 
cruelties  with  wffiich  they  have  glutted  themselves.” 

Col.  Mathews  was  not  exchanged,  until  near  the 
termination  of  the  war;  when  he  joined  the  army 
under  Gen.  Green,  as  commander  of  the  Third  Vir- 
ginia regiment.  Whilst  in  the  south,  he  purchased  the 
Goosepond  tract  of  land  on  Broad  River.  He  removed 
to  it  with  his  family  in  1784. 

The  high  reputation  acquired  by  Col.  Mathews 
during  the  war,  and  the  readiness  with  which  he  ever 
claimed  what  he  was  entitled  to,  made  him  at  once  the 
principal  man  in  Georgia.  He  was  elected  Governor 
in  1786.  He  was  the  first  representative  of  the  people 
of  Georgia,  in  the  Congress  of  the  United  States, 
under  the  present  Constitution.  He  was  again  Gover- 
nor of  Georgia  in  1794-5.  The  policy  adopted  by  the 


76 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


State,  during  and  immediately  after  the  revolutionary 
war,  of  encouraging  emigration  to  it,  by  grants  of  land 
gratis,  excited  among  its  people  the  greatest  greedi- 
ness for  the  acquisition  of  that  kind  of  property.  The 
State  came  to  be  considered  but  the  agent  for  the  dis- 
tribution among  them  of  what  the  peojfie  claimed  to 
be  theirs.  Many  schemes  were  devised,  and  attempted 
to  be  executed,  for  transferring  the  public  domain  to 
individuals,  at  a mere  nominal  price.  Each  defeat 
showed  the  gathering  strength  of  the  people’s  advocates. 
In  1795,  a majority  of  the  members  of  the  Legislature 
were  found  favorable  to  the  parting  with  its  territory 
by  the  State  in  some  way.  The  speculators  of  the  day 
had  been  looking  on,  preparing  the  means  for  seizing 
upon  what  they  considered  their  proper  prey.  An 
act  was  passed  by  the  Legislature,  usually  called 
the  Yazoo  fraud,  for  selling  for  five  hundred  thousand 
dollars  to  several  companies,  upwards  of  forty  millions 
of  acres  in  that  part  of  the  territory  of  Georgia,  which 
now  makes  the  States  of  Alabama  and  Mississippi. 
All  the  members  of  the  Legislature  who  voted  for  the 
act,  secured  shares,  or  money,  in  the  companies  except 
one.  The  Governor  had  been  opposed  to  all  the  pre- 
vious schemes  for  disposing  of  the  public  land.  It  was 
with  great  difficulty  that  his  consent  was  obtained  to 
put  his  signature  to  the  act  for  its  sale.  The  morning 
after  it  was  rumored  that  his  scruples  had  been  over- 
come, his  secretary,  Urquhart,  endeavored  to  arrest  his 
intended  signature  through  his  inherited  Irish  supersti- 
tion. He  dipped  the  pen  which  was  used  by  the  Gov- 
ernor into  oil.  Though  startled  by  his  pen  obstinately 
refusing  to  make  a mark,  he  was  not  thus  to  be  deterred 
from  his  purpose.  He  directed  his  secretary  to  make 
another  pen,  with  which  he  signed  his  approval. 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


77 


The  bribery  was  noised  abroad  by  rumor’s  hundred 
tongues.  The  disappointed  in  getting  a share  of  the 
public  land  for  little  or  nothing,  united  with  the  honest 
and  patriotic  in  raising  such  a clamor  of  indignation  as 
had  never  been  heard  before.  Stout  as  the  Governor’s 
spirit  was,  he  had  to  yield  to  the  storm.  He  quitted 
Georgia,  never  afterwards  to  make  it  his  home  long  at 
a time. 

In  1811,  runaway  rogues  and  all  sorts  of  lawless 
men  got  the  upper  hand  of  the  old  Spanish  inhabitants 
in  Florida.  They  called  themselves  patriots.  Some 
one  described  them  as  having  so  strong  a habit  of 
appropriating  what  did  not  belong  to  them,  that  a 
patriot  could  scarcely  turn  his  back,  but  his  blanket 
was  taken  possession  of  by  a brother  in  arms.  They 
threw  off  the  Spanish  rule,  declared  themselves  free, 
and  put  themselves  under  their  own  government.  They 
petitioned  the  United  States  to  make  Florida  one  of 
its  territories.  Gen.  Mathews  was  appointed  by  Mr. 
Madison,  then  President,  Agent,  to  negotiate  with  the 
constituted  authorities  of  Florida  for  the  annexation  of 
the  country  to  the  United  States.  The  military  leader 
of  the  patriots,  who  had  shortly  before  disappeared 
from  the  upper  part  of  Georgia  without  leave  or 
license,  and  their  civil  head,  Col.  McIntosh,  made  a 
contract  with  Gen.  Mathews,  that  Florida  should  be 
annexed  to  the  United  States.  Gen.  Mathews’s  treaty 
was  strongly  remonstrated  against  by  the  Spanish 
government,  and  finally  disavowed  by  the  President, 
as  not  having  been  made  with  the  constituted  autho- 
rities, according  to  the  terms  of  Gen.  Mathews’s  in- 
structions. This  quibble  upon  the  words,  constituted 
authorities,  was  so  unintelligible  to  Gen.  Mathews’s 
unbookish  mind,  and  so  entirely  different  from  what 


78 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


lie  supposed  to  be  the  intentions  of  tlie  government 
from  bis  conversations  with  its  officers,  that  he  became 
enraged  beyond  measure,  and  set  off  for  Washington 
City  to  subject  the  President  to  personal  chastisement ; 
swearing  that  it  was  Mr.  Madison’s  cowardly  demo- 
cratic fear  of  Spain  and  Great  Britain,  and  not  his 
Agent’s  doings,  that  occasioned  his  disavowal  of  what 
had  been  done ; and  that  he  would  expose  to  the  world 
the  whole  affair.  This  high  state  of  excitement,  added 
to  the  fatigue  and  exposure  which  he  had  undergone 
in  Florida,  brought  on  a fever,  whilst  on  his  way  to 
Washington  City  to  thrash  the  President,  of  which  he 
died  in  Augusta,  Georgia,  March,  1812. 

General  Mathews  was  a short,  thick  man,  with 
stout  legs,  on  which  he  stood  very  straight.  He  carried 
his  head  rather  thrown  back.  His  features  were  full 
and  bluff;  his  hair,  light  red;  and  his  complexion,  fair 
and  florid.  His  looks  spoke  out  that  he  would  not  fear 
the  devil,  should  he  meet  him  face  to  face.  He  ad- 
mitted no  superior  but  Gen.  Washington.  He  spoke 
of  his  services  to  the  country  as  unsurpassed  but  by 
those  of  his  great  chief.  He  loved  to  talk  of  himself, 
and  spoke  as  freely  and  encomiastically  as  enthusiastic 
youths  do  of  Alexander  and  Caesar.  His  dress  was  in 
unison  with  his  looks  and  conversation.  He  wore  a 
three-cornered  cocked  hat,  fair  top  boots,  a full  ruffled 
shirt  at  the  bosom  and  wrists,  and  occasionally  a long 
sword  at  his  side.  Qualities  were  united  in  him  which 
are  never  found  in  one  person,  except  an  Irishman. 
To  listen  to  his  talk  about  himself,  his  children,  and 
his  affairs,  one  might  have  thought  he  was  but  a puff 
of  wind ; trade  with  him,  he  was  found  to  be  one  of 
the  shrewdest  of  men ; fight  him,  and  he  never  failed 
to  act  the  hero.  He  was  unlearned.  When  he  read, 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


79 


it  was  always  aloud,  and  with  the  confidence  which 
accompanies  the  consciousness  of  doing  a thing'  well. 
He  pronounced  fully  the  l in  “would,”  “should,”  (fee., 
&c.,  and  ed  at  the  termination  of  compound  words 
with  a long  drawling  accent.  He  spelled  “ coffee,” 
Kaughphy.  He  wrote  “ congress  ” with  a k.  When 
Governor,  he  dictated  his  messages  to  his  secretary, 
and  then  sent  them  to  James  Mason  Simmons,  the  Irish 
schoolmaster,  to  put  them  into  grammar.  His  memory 
was  unequalled.  Whilst  he  was  a Member  of  Con- 
gress, an  important  document,  which  had  been  read 
during  the  session,  was  lost.  He  was  able  to  repeat  its 
contents  verbatim.  Previous  to  the  Revolutionary 
War,  he  was  Sheriff  of  Augusta  county,  and  had  to 
collect  the  taxes  from  the  inhabitants.  He  recollected 
for  a long  time  the  name  of  every  tax-payer.  His  me- 
mory, and  sharpness  in  trade,  enabled  him  to  make 
lucrative  speculations  in  the  most  unusual  way.  He 
used  to  go  from  Philadelphia  to  Ohio  with  three  or 
four  horses  for  his  capital  in  trade.  He  knew  all  the 
officers  of  the  Revolutionary  Army  entitled  to  land  in 
Ohio.  He  found  that  men  would  take  a horse  for  an 
uncertain  claim  who  would  refuse  to  sell  at  all  if  money 
were  offered,  from  the  opinion  that  money,  which  was 
very  scarce,  would  not  be  given  but  for  what  was 
known  to  be  very  valuable.  He  acquired  a large 
estate  in  lands,  principally  by  this  kind  of  traffic. 
Mr.  Adams,  when  President,  nominated  him  to  the 
Senate  for  Governor  of  the  Mississippi  Territory,  and 
afterwards  withdrew  the  nomination  upon  finding  the 
opposition  to  his  appointment  very  great.  Mr.  Adams’s 
conduct  coming  to  Gen.  Mathews’s  knowledge,  he  im- 
mediately set  off  for  Philadelphia,  where  Congress  then 
assembled,  to  chastise  the  President.  Upon  his  arrival 


80 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


in  Philadelphia,  he  rode  directly  to  Mr.  Adams’s  house, 
hitched  his  horse,  and  went  to  the  door,  his  revolu- 
tionary sword  at  his  thigh,  his  three-cornered  cocked 
hat  on  his  head,  and  gave  a thundering  knock.  Upon 
a servant  opening  it,  he  demanded  to  see  the  President. 
He  was  told  that  he  was  engaged.  He  said  to  the 
servant : “ I presume  your  business  is  to  carry  messages 
to  the  President.  Now,  if  you  do  not  immediately 
inform  him  that  a gentleman  wishes  to  spake  to  him, 
your  head  shall  answer  the  consequences.”  The  ser- 
vant bowed,  retired,  and  informed  the  President  that 
a very  strange  old  fellow,  who  called  himself  General 
Mathews,  wished  to  see  him,  and  would  take  no  denial. 
Mr.  Adams  directed  that  he  should  be  admitted. 
Upon  entering  the  room  where  the  President  was,  he 
said : “ I presume  you  are  Mr.  Adams,  President  of 
these  United  States.  My  name  is  Mathews,  some- 
times called  Gov.  Mathews  ; well  known  at  the  battle 
of  Garmantown  as  Col.  Mathews,  of  the  Virginia  line. 
Now,  Sar,  I understand  that  you  nominated  me  to  the 
Senate  of  these  United  States  to  be  Governor  of  the 
Massassappa  Tarratory,  and  that  afterwards  you  took 
back  the  nomination.  Sar,  if  you  had  known  me,  you 
would  not  have  taken  the  nomination  back.  If  you 
did  not  know  me,  you  should  not  have  nominated  me 
to  so  important  an  office.  Now,  Sar,  unless  you  can 
satisfy  me,  your  station  of  President  of  these  United 
States  shall  not  screen  you  from  my  vaugance.”  Mr. 
Adams  accordingly  set  about  satisfying  him,  which  he 
did  with  the  more  good  will  on  account  of  the  General 
being  a stanch  federalist.  Upon  inquiring  after  Gen. 
Mathews’s  sons,  and  receiving  a most  laudatory  descrip- 
tion of  them,  he  promised  to  appoint  John  supervisor 
of  the  public  revenue  in  Georgia.  Upon  which  the 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


81 


General  expressed  himself  content,  saying:  “My  son 
John  is  a man  of  about  my  inches,  with  the  advantage 
of  a labral  education,  and  for  his  intagrity  I pledge 
my  head.” 

The  first  business  before  the  Legislature  of  1795-6, 
after  its  organization,  was  to  determine  whether  Gover- 
nor Mathews  was  to  be  considered  in  office.  Whilst 
engaged  in  the  discussion,  the  Clerk  of  the  House  went 
into  the  Executive  office.  The  Governor  accosted  him, 
saying,  “ What  are  those  fellows  about  that  they  do 
not  let  me  know  that  they  are  organized  and  ready  to 
receive  my  massage  ? ” The  Clerk  told  him  that  the 
members  were  discussing  the  question  whether  he  was 
constitutionally  Governor.  “ By  the  Atarnal,”  he  ex- 
claimed, “ if  they  don’t,  I will  cut  an  avanue  from  this 
office  through  them.” 

General  Mathews  married  Miss  Woods,  of  Albe- 
marle County,  the  half-sister  of  Col.  John  Stuart,  of 
Greenbrier. 

After  her  death,  he  married  Mrs.  Reed,  of  Staunton. 
A year  or  two  afterwards  Mrs.  Mathews,  accompanied 
by  two  of  her  husband’s  daughters  by  his  first  wife, 
visited  his  and  her  relations  and  friends  in  Virginia. 
When  the  time  had  passed  allowed  for  her  visit,  she 
wrote  to  her  husband  to  come  or  send  for  her.  He 
answered  that  she  had  gone  without  him,  and  might 
return  in  the  same  way.  She  replied  that  she  would 
not  again  travel  so  far  without  his  protection.  The 
case  was  referred  to  the  legislature.  A divorce  was 
granted,  though  he  and  his  wife  had  never  quarrelled, 
had  parted  in  kindness,  and  had  no  intention  at  the 
time  of  continuing  to  live  apart.  He  married  for  his 
third  Arife  Mrs.  Flowers  of  Mississippi.  Though  he 
married  three  wives,  he  cared  too  much  for  himself  to 
6 


82 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


be  very  devoted  to  either  of  them.  Most  of  his  time 
was  passed  from  home,  in  the  service  of  the  public  or 
in  busy  speculation. 

General  Mathews’s  residence  on  Broad  River  was 
in  a cabin  of  small  logs,  with  the  sides  scalped  off,  the 
openings  between  them  chinked  with  puncheons,  and 
daubed  with  red  mud.  It  had  one  room  and  an  entry, 
through  which  there  was  a way  upstairs,  where  the 
young  ladies  slept.  His  sons  occupied  round  log,  un- 
scalped, clapboard  cabins  in  the  yard.  These  cabins 
were  made  to  accommodate  the  family  until  the  Gover- 
nor left  Georgia,  his  son  George  went  to  Mississippi, 
and  Col.  Charles  was  about  to  marry  Miss  Lucy  Early, 
the  sister  of  Gov.  Early,  when  they  gave  place  to  a 
fine  house. 


“ At  Brandywine  and  Germantown, 

His  flowing  blood  from  many  a wound, 
His  country’s  freedom  seal’d ; 
He’s  gone — but  left  bis  glorious  name 
Engraved  on  the  rolls  of  fame, 

In  council  and  in  field.” 


John  Mathews,  the  oldest  son  of  Gen.  Mathews, 
whilst  employed  in  learning  Latin  and  Greek  at  an 
academy  in  Western  Virginia,  fell  in  love  with  a pretty 
cousin  and  married  her.  He  returned  to  Georgia,  and 
was  authorized,  by  an  Act  of  the  Legislature,  to  prac- 
tise law.  There  was  some  peculiarity  in  the  Mathewses 
which  prevented  their  success  at  the  bar.  Many  tried ; 
not  one  ever  succeeded.  They  were  either  too  proud, 
too  passionate,  or  too  much  devoted  to  other  pursuits, 
to  secure  the  confidence  of  those  who  Avanted  the  aid 
of  lawyers.  John  Mathews,  getting  along  rather  badly 
at  the  bar,  procured,  through  his  father,  from  President 
Adams,  the  office  of  supervisor  of  the  revenue.  The 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


83 


cousin  whom  he  married,  though  a very  pretty  woman, 
did  not  prove  a very  good  helpmate.  They  had  a 
large  family  of  children.  They,  as  the  children  of 
cousins  are  apt  to  do,  showed  that  those  who  are  so 
near  akin  ought  not  to  marry  if  they  can  do  otherwise ; 
that  crossing  the  breed  is  as  important  for  man  as  other 
animals. 

William  Mathews,  second  son  of  Gen.  Mathews, 
married  Elizabeth  Meriwether,  daughter  of  Mr.  Frank 
Meriwether,  an  exceedingly  clever  woman,  as  she 
proved  in  her  after  life  by  the  admirable  manner  in 
which  she  discharged  all  the  duties  of  wife,  mother, 
friend,  and  relative.  William  Mathews  never  studied 
Latin  or  Greek,  was  a planter,  and  succeeded  very  well. 
He  never  held  any  higher  office  than  captain  of  the 
militia  of  his  district,  and  that  was  rather  forced  upon 
him  than  sought.  Militia  musters  were  great  bores  to 
many  of  the  Broad  River  people.  It  was  a subject 
of  long  contest  in  the  company,  which  included  most 
of  them,  whether  much  mustering  or  no  mustering 
should  be  done.  Upon  a vacancy  occurring  in  the 
captaincy,  the  musterers  and  anti-musterers  had  a trial 
of  strength.  The  musterers  put  up  William  Mathews 
for  their  candidate,  supposing  that  his  father’s  great 
fame  in  war  would  enable  him  to  put  down  opposition. 
The  anti-musterers  showed  their  thorough  contempt 
of  the  practice  of  taking  men  from  their  useful  em- 
ployments, to  be  made  stand  in  the  sun,  run  about  the 
old  fields,  and  get  drunk,  by  putting  up  in  opposition 
a mulatto  free  negro.  The  most  active  and  noisy  elec- 
tioneering was  carried  on  by  the  parties.  The  result 
is  not  recollected.  I am  inclined  to  think  that  the 
negro  got  the  most  votes,  but  that  the  Governor  com- 
missioned William  Mathews,  upon  the  decision  that  a 


84 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


negro  conlcl  not  hold  a commission  from  tlie  State. 
William  Mathews  survived  the  contest  but  a short 
time. 

I was  the  innocent  cause  of  the  final  triumph  of  the 
anti-musterers.  A poor  young  fellow,  by  the  name  of 
Mar,  of  the  Goolsby  gang,  performed  a tour  of  militia 
duty  during  the  war  with  Great  Britain.  He  got  to 
be  sergeant,  and  acquired  a great  spirit  of  parade. 
Soon  after  the  close  of  the  war,  he  was  rewarded  for 
what  he  had  done  by  being  elected  Captain.  I was  at 
my  father’s  at  the  time,  in  very  bad  health.  Captain 
Mar  applied  to  me  for  the  use  of  my  sword.  I gave 
him  my  coat  and  epaulettes.  Mar  had  never  been  fine 
before.  He  showed  off  to  the  company  by  mustering 
the  men  to  death.  Once  on  a hot  summer  day,  being 
a little  lame,  he  mounted  a horse,  and  carried  the  com- 
pany through  all  Steuben  and  Duane’s  evolutions.  An 
insurrection  broke  out  the  next  muster  day.  The 
company  resolved  that  Captain  Mar  was  a nuisance, 
and  militia  mustering  all  humbuggery.  Mar’s  com- 
mand ceased  from  that  time  until  now,  the  Broad 
Biver  people  having  refused  to  elect  any  one  captain 
who  would  have  made  them  muster. 

William  Mathews  lived  at  the  Goosepond  until  his 
death.  His  family  soon  after  removed  to  the  planta- 
tion which  had  been  owned  by  General  Blackburn,  in 
Albert  County. 

George  Mathews,  third  son  of  General  Mathews, 
was  a man  of  talent  and  literary  taste.  He  was  a law- 
yer, but  loved  his  ease  better  than  practice,  and  so  got 
none.  He  resided  for  many  years  with  his  brother 
William,  and  afterwards  with  his  brother  Charles,  at 
the  Goosepond.  He  was  apjiointed  by  the  President 
Judge  of  the  Mississippi  Territory.  He  married  soon 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


85 


after  Miss  Flowers,  the  daughter  of  his  father’s  last 
wife.  He  afterwards  removed  to  Louisiana,  and  be- 
came one  of  the  Judges  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  that 
State.  He  loved  good  eating  and  drinking,  became 
fat,  and  died  long  before  he  arrived  at  his  threescore 
years  and  ten.  He  was  very  moderate  in  his  expendi- 
tures, and  died  very  wealthy.  His  daughter  is  married 
to  Major  Chase,  of  the  United  States  Army.  During 
the  last  summer,  my  wife  and  myself  were  seated  for 
several  days  at  dinner  opposite  to  Major  Chase,  his 
wife,  and  little  daughter,  in  the  Astor  House,  New 
York.  I had  never  seen  either  of  them,  and  yet  there 
was  something  about  Mrs.  Chase  and  her  child  that 
constantly  drew  my  eyes  to  them.  I met  with  Major 
Chase  and  his  family  afterwards  in  Washington  City. 
I made  their  acquaintance,  and  found  out  that  the 
attraction  was  the  resemblance  of  Mrs.  Chase  and  her 
little  daughter  to  Judge  Mathews,  whose  appearance 
continued  impressed  upon  my  memory  though  I had 
not  seen  him  for  fifty  years. 

Charles  Lewis  Mathews,  the  youngest  son  of  Gen- 
eral Mathews,  was  a man  of  good  understanding,  well 
improved.  His  temper  was  sociable,  and  his  character 
honorable.  I was  but  a boy  when  he  returned  to 
Georgia  from  Virginia,  where  he  had  been  at  school 
and  college.  There  was  a large  party  of  neighbors  en- 
joying a Christmas  frolic  at  my  father’s,  given  upon  his 
removing  into  a new  frame-house  from  the  old  log 
structure.  The  young  people  were  all  excitement 
dancing  in  one  room,  and  the  old  drinking  and  playing 
whist  in  another.  Politics  was  then  a very  exciting 
subject  of  conversation.  The  contest  between  Mr. 
Jefferson  and  Mr.  Adams  had  set  the  whole  country 
into  a blaze.  The  Yazoo  af&ir  still  added  fuel  to  the 


86 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


flames.  Charles  Mathews,  William  Barnett,  and  two 
others  were  playing.  William  Barnett,  who  was  a 
very  active  politician  of  the  Democratic  party,  said 
something  disparaging  of  the  Federalists  and  Yazoo- 
ites.  The  Irish  blood  of  Charles  Mathews  was  imme- 
diately in  full  gallop,  tie  swore  an  oath,  and  made  at 
Barnett.  Their  partners  kept  them  apart.  Every  one 
present  became  agitated,  and  most  talked  as  fast  as 
they  would  have  fought.  Dancing  and  whist  stopped, 
and  all  ivas  hubbub.  Charles  Mathews  was  my  mo- 
ther’s kin,  and  William  Barnett  my  father’s.  Charles 
Mathews  found  himself  without  backers.  No  one 
thought  with  him,  or  felt  with  him,  except  my  mother. 
The  McGehees  wanted,  as  they  said,  to  thrash  Feder- 
alism out  of  him.  The  next  day  brought  talks  about 
challenges.  The  quarrel  gradually  subsided  into  a 
fixed  dislike  between  the  Mathewses  on  one  side  and 
the  Barnetts  and  McGehees  on  the  other. 

Charles  Mathews  married  Lucy  Early,  the  sister  of 
Gov.  Peter  Early.  He  owned  and  lived  at  the  Goose- 
pond  until  his  wife’s  death.  Some  yearn  after  he 
removed  to  Alabama,  and  settled  near  Cahaba,  where 
he  died,  in' 1 84-,  one  of  the  wealthiest  planters  in  the 
United  States. 

Anne  Mathews,  oldest  daughter  of  Gen.  Mathews, 
married  Samuel  Blackburn,  who  was  of  Irish  descent, 
if  not  an  Irishman.  He  was  a classical  scholar,  and  for 
some  time  after  his  removal  to  Georgia,  principal 
teacher  of  the  academy  in  Washington,  Wilks  County. 
Whilst  thus  employed,  he  prepared  himself  for  the 
practice  of  the  law.  After  his  marriage,  he  settled  in 
Elbert  County,  on  Broad  River,  where  he  commenced 
the  life  of  a lawyer.  He  was  advancing  successfully  in 
his  profession  and  political  influence,  when  the  Legisla- 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


87 


ture  met  in  1795.  He  was  a member.  His  conduct  in 
relation  to  the  Yazoo  Act,  was  such  as  to  excite 
suspicion,  that  he  held  with  the  hare  whilst  he  ran 
with  the  dogs.  Though  he  voted  against  the  act,  it 
was  alleged  that  he  spoke  for  it,  and  would  have  voted 
the  same  way  if  it  could  not  have  otherwise  passed, 
and  that  his  voting  against  it  was  done  by  consent  of 
the  speculators,  to  save  the  Governor,  his  father-in-law, 
from  suspicion  of  being  concerned  in  the  purchase. 
The  allegations  against  the  integrity  of  General  Black- 
burn were  founded  upon  the  most  trivial  circumstances. 
They  were,  however,  so  noised  abroad  among  his  con- 
stituents, that  he  quitted  Georgia,  and  settled  in  Staun- 
ton, Virginia,  and  afterwards  upon  his  plantation,  called 
the  Wilderness,  in  Bath  County.  He  several  times 
represented  Bath  County  in  the  Virginia  Legislature. 
His  fine  voice,  expressive  features,  noble  person,  perfect 
self-possession,  keen  wit,  and  forcible  language,  directed 
by  a well-cultivated  and  powerful  intellect,  made  him 
one  of  the  most  eloquent  men 'of  his  time.  He  was  a 
Federalist  in  politics.  His  strong  abusive  denunciations 
of  the  Bepublicans,  when  he  was  a member  of  the  Vir- 
ginia Legislature,  made  him  long  remembered  by ' the 
parties  of  the  State. 

In  1812,  I met  with  him  at  the  Warm  Springs, 
where  he  was  attending  the  session  of  the  County 
Court  of  Bath.  I left  the  Springs  in  his  company,  to 
pass  a few  days  at  his  house,  where  Mrs.  Charles 
Mathews,  my  neighbor  in  Georgia,  then  was.  He  was 
excited  by  drinking,  and  poured  forth  as  we  travelled 
along  the  most  violent  philippic  against  my  friends  and 
relations  on  Broad  River,  for  their  suspicions  of  his 
integrity.  We  did  not  reach  his  house  the  evening 
that  we  left  the  Springs.  The  next  day  he  was  sober, 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


and  sufficiently  respectful  in  his  conduct  to  enable  me 
to  make  the  visit  to  his  family  with  great  pleasure. 

I afterwards  met  with  him  at  Rockingham  Court, 
and  heard  him  defend  with  great  power  a criminal, 
eighty  years  old,  who  had,  when  in  the  poor-house  of 
the  county,  killed  a beggar  like  himself,  of  about  the 
same  age,  in  a fight  about  a cucumber.  The  witness  to 
prove  the  facts  was  ninety.  Such  a trial,  of  such  a 
criminal,  for  such  an  offence,  proved  by  such  a witness, 
and  advocated  by  such  a lawyer,  made  a strong  impres- 
sion upon  my  memory.  He  and  my  oldest  brother 
met  at  Major  Grattan’s,  as  he  was  going  to  Rockingham 
Court.  They  both  drank  very  freely.  The  presence 
of  Georgians  made  General  Blackburn  feel  the  old 
sore.  He  charged  Col.  Taliaferro  with  setting  afloat 
the  rumor  which  had  driven  him  from  Georgia,  and 
began  to  abuse  him.  My  brother’s  wife  was  Col.  Talia- 
ferro’s niece.  Naturally  waspish,  the  whiskey  which 
he  and  the  general  had  been  taking  together,  made  his 
temper  ungovernable.  They  fell  to  fighting. 


THE  MERIWETHERS. 

During  the  persecution  of  the  people  of  Wales  in 
the  time  of  Charles  the  Second,  three  brothers,  Nicho- 
las, William,  and  David  Meriwether,  all  young  unmar- 
ried men,  avoided  the  oppression  of  the  government 
by  emigrating  to  the  colony  of  Virginia.  The  Meri- 
wethers were  too  frank  and  sincere  to  be  formalists, 
and  too  sensible  to  be  bigoted,  and  were,  therefore, 
neither  Roman  Catholics  nor  Episcopalians  in  Wales, 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


89 


nor  conformists  to  the  government  cliurcli  in  the  col- 
ony of  Virginia.  As  long  as  religion  was  forced  upon 
them,  they  seemed  to  be  infidels.  When  the  revolu- 
tion permitted  every  one  to  worship  God  according  to 
the  dictates  of  his  own  conscience,  many  of  them  be- 
came distinguished  for  piety.  They  brought  more 
wealth  with  them  to  Virginia  than  was  usual  for  emi- 
grants in  the  seventeenth  century.  Most  of  them  were 
peculiar  in  manners  and  habits ; low  and  stout  in  sta- 
ture, with  round  heads,  dark  complexion,  and  bright 
hazel  eyes;  were  very  industrious  and  economical,  and 
yet  ever  ready  to  serve  the  sick,  and  those  who  needed 
their  assistance.  They  were  too  proud  to  be  vain. 
They  looked  to  their  own  thoughts  and  conduct  rather 
than  to  what  others  misfiit  be  thinking  of  them.  The 
stock  must  have  come  from  some  singular  union.  Their 
long  intermixture  with  other  families  has  not  yet  de- 
prived them  of  their  uniqueness.  No  one  ever  looked 
at,  or  talked  with  one  of  them,  but  he  heard  or  saw 
something  which  made  him  listen,  or  look  again.  They 
were  slow  in  forming  opinions,  and  obstinate  in  adher- 
ing to  them ; very  knowing ; but  their  investigations 
were  minute  and  accurate  rather  than  speculative  and 
profound.  Mr.  Jefierson  said  of  Col.  Nicholas  Meri- 
wether, that  he  was  the  most  sensible  man  he  ever 
knew ; and  William  H.  Crawford  made  the  same  re- 
mark of  Mr.  F rank  Meriwether. 

David  Meriwether,  the  Welshman,  had  one  child, 
who  married,  and  died  without  descendants. 

William  Meriwether,  David’s  brother,  had  one 
daughter,  who  married Skelton.  From  them  de- 

scended Meriwether  Jones,  of  Richmond,  celebrated  as 
a political  writer  fifty  years  ago;  Gen.  Walter  Jones, 
the  distinguished  lawyer,  of  Washington  City;  Gen. 


90 


FIEST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


Roger  Jones,  of  the  regular  army;  and  Commodore 
Catesby  Jones,  of  the  navy,  whose  son  was  lately 
wounded  by  the  cannonade  upon  the  people  in  the 
streets  of  Paris,  devilishly  ordered  by  Louis  Napoleon 
Bonaparte. 

Nicholas,  the  Welshman,  married  Elizabeth,  the 
daughter  of  David  Crawford,  of  New  Kent  County. 
Most,  if  not  all,  in  the  United  States  who  are  called 
Meriwether  are  descended  from  them.  They  had  two 
sons,  William  and  David,  and  several  daughters. 

William’s  children  were  John,  Thomas,  Richard, 
Jane,  Sarah,  and  Mary. 

David’s  children  were  Nicholas,  Francis,  James, 
and  William. 

Jane,  daughter  of  Nicholas  the  elder,  married  Ro- 
bert Lewis.  From  them  descended  most  of  the  Lew- 
ises of  Virginia,  Georgia,  and  Kentucky,  who  are  not 
descended  from  the  Irishman,  John  Lewis,  my  great- 
grandfather. Another  daughter  of  Nicholas  married 

Johnson,  whose  descendant,  Chapman  Johnson, 

was  the  most  eminent  of  the  lawyers  of  Virginia.  An- 
other daughter  married Littlepage,  of  a highly 

respectable  family. 

Nicholas  Meriwether  died  at  a very  advanced  age, 
in  It 44,  having  outlived  all  his  children.  He  acquired 
very  great  wealth,  which  he  distributed  among  his 
grandchildren  and  great-grandchildren.  He  owned 
many  fine  horses,  some  plate,  a great  many  negroes, 
and  several  tracts  of  land,  one  of  which  contained 
17,952  acres. 

One  of  Nicholas  Meriwether’s  great-granddaughters 
married  Col.  Syme,  a travelled  gentleman  of  rank  and 
fortune,  whose  name  is  still  freshly  remembered  from 
the  delicious,  tender,  white-rinded,  red-meat  watermelon 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


91 


which  he  brought  to  this  country  from  the  islands  of 
the  Mediterranean.  Col.  Syme’s  widow  married  Dr. 
Thomas  Walker,  the  grandfather  of  Mrs.  W.  C.  Rives. 
Another  of  Nicholas  Meriwether’s  great-granddaugh- 
ters married  Maj.  Hughes  of  the  neighborhood  of 
Louisville,  Kentucky.  She  had  twenty-six  children, 
fourteen  of  whom  arrived  at  maturity,  who  have 
stocked  the  western  country  with  Meriwether  de- 
scendants by  doing  as  their  progenitress  did. 

Nicholas  Meriwether’s  grandson,  Col.  James  Meri- 
wether, the  son  of  David,  married  Judith  Burnly. 
From  them  descended  Gen.  David  Meriwether  of 
Georgia,  who  married  Miss  Wingfield,  the  sister  of 
Mrs.  Hope  Hull.  He  was  distinguished  for  plain  dress 
and  manners,  truth,  probity,  and  sound  sense.  He 
was  a meritorious  officer  in  the  army  of  the  revolution. 
After  the  close  of  the  war  he  removed  from  Virginia 
to  Georgia.  He  was  often  a member  of  the  Legislature, 
several  times  a member  of  Congress,  and  performed 
important  public  service  by  the  skill  and  success  with 
which  he  treated  with  the  Creeks  and  Cherokees  for 
the  relinquishment  of  their  occupant  right  to  the  terri- 
tory of  the  State. 

John,  his  oldest  son,  married  young  and  removed 
to  Alabama. 

James,  his  second  son,  was  a graduate  of  Franklin 
College  ; one  of  its  trustees ; captain  of  a company 
under  Gen.  Floyd  in  the  expedition  against  the  Creeks 
in  1818-14;  a Commissioner  to  hold  treaties  with  the 
Creeks  and  Cherokees,  and  a member  of  Congress. 
He  removed  to  Tennessee,  and  settled  near  Menqffiis, 
where  he  died. 

Dr.  William,  Gen.  Meriwether’s  third  son,  was  a 
graduate  of  Franklin  College.  Finding  himself,  after 


92 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


trial,  unable,  from  feeble  health,  to  undergo  the  fatigue 
of  medical  practice,  he  studied  law,  and  was  admitted 
to  the  bar.  His  consumptive  constitution  alone  pre- 
vented great  success  in  his  new  profession.  He  married 
Miss  Sarah  Malloy,  and  died  in  the  prime  of  life,  leav- 
ing his  excellent  wife  a widow,  and  two  promising 
children.  His  daughter,  a very  clever  young  lady, 
died  young  and  unmarried.  His  son  has  married 
Bishop  Andrews’  daughter. 

Gen.  Meriwether’s  only  daughter  married  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Henning,  a method ist  preacher,  and  very  success- 
ful planter. 

His  sons  Frank,  George,  and  David  removed  to 
Alabama  and  Tennessee  before  they  were  old  enough 
to  have  performed  any  distinguished  public  service  in 
Georgia. 

Nicholas  Meriwether’s  grandson  Francis,  the  son  of 
David,  married  the  sister  of  John  Lewis,  the  son-in-law 
of  Gabriel  Jones,  the  great  lawyer  of  the  valley  of  Vir- 
ginia. He  removed  to  South  Carolina,  where  he  left  a 
large  family. 

David,  another  son  of  David,  married  Miss  Weaver 
in  England.  His  brother  James  volunteered  at  the 
commencement  of  the  revolution,  when  a youth  of  sev- 
enteen. He  continued  to  serve  to  the  end  of  the  war 
with  great  distinction,  first  as  a militiaman,  in  what 
was  called  the  silk-stocking  company  of  Richmond,  and 
afterwards  as  captain  in  the  Virginia  Continental  line. 
Whilst  serving  in  the  Southern  States,  he  was  associated 
with  the  gallant  Col.  William  Washington,  and  formed 
an  intimate  friendship  with  him.  At  the  close  of  the 
war,  he  settled  in  Georgia,  where  he  married  Miss 
Susan  Hatcher.  He  was  Secretary  of  the  Executive 
Department,  Comptroller  General,  and  held  other  offi- 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


93 


ces  of  high  trust  continuously  for  twenty  years.  He 
had  two  sons,  Alexander,  now  “ Ordinary  ” of  Dooly 
County,  and  James,  who  was  a man  of  education,  ta- 
lent, and  integrity ; Judge  of  the  Superior  Court,  a 
member  of  Congress,  frequently  a member  of  the  Leg- 
islature, and  more  than  once  Speaker  of  the  House 
of  Representatives.  One  of  his  sisters  married  Col. 
Thomas  M.  Berrien,  brother  of  Senator  John  M.  Ber- 
rien ; one  Dr.  Robins,  and  another  Mr.  Patterson,  who 
had  two  daughters ; one  married  Eleazer  Early,  the 
brother  of  Gov.  Peter  Early ; and  the  other  Daniel 
Sturges,  Surveyor  General  of  Georgia. 

Thomas  Meriwether,  the  grandson  of  Nicholas,  the 
Welshman,  and  son  of  William,  wras  a man  of  excellent 
character,  and  great  wmalth.  He  married  Elizabeth 
Thornton,  who  belonged  to  one  of  the  most  respecta- 
ble of  the  untitled  families  of  England.  Her  sister 
Mildred  married  Samuel  Washington,  brother  of  Gen. 
George  Washington.  Thomas  Meriwether  had  ten 
children.  His  rank  in  society  may  be  estimated  by 
his  intimate  friends,  the  executors  of  his  will.  They 
were,  Col.  Joshua  Fry,  Peter  Jefferson,  Dr.  Thomas 
Walker,  and  Col.  John  Thornton.  Col.  Fry  was  the 
brother-in-law  of  Dr.  George  Gilmer.  He  was  Colonel 
Commandant  of  the  first  Virginia  troops  raised  to  act 
against  the  French  and  Indians  in  the  war  of  1756-63, 
usually  known  in  Virginia  as  Braddock’s.  George 
Washington  wras  his  Lieutenant-Colonel,  and  succeeded, 
upon  his  death,  to  his  command.  Peter  Jefferson  was 
the  father  of  President  Jefferson.  Dr.  Thomas  Walker 
was  the  brother-in-law  of  Dr.  George  Gilmer,  and 
grandfather  of  Mrs.  Rives,  wife  of  the  American  Min- 
ister at  Paris ; Commissioner  with  Thomas  Lewis  to 
hold  treaties  with  the  western  Indians,  after  their 


94 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


defeat  at  the  Point,  and  Commissioner  to  run  the  line 
between  Virginia  and  North  Carolina.  He  performed 
other  public  services,  and  was  distinguished  for  his 
wealth  and  private  virtue.  Col.  Thornton  was  the 
brother  of  Mrs.  Meriwether. 

Nicholas,  the  oldest  son  of  Thomas  Meriwether,  was 
brave  in  danger,  and  self-possessed  in  the  most  diffi- 
cult situations.  He  was  one  of  the  four  Americans 
who  bore  the  wounded  Braddock  from  the  field  of 
battle  at  his  disastrous  defeat.  A gold-laced,  embroid- 
ered coat,  sent  him  from  Ireland,  by  Gen.  Braddock’s 
sister,  remained  for  a long  time  a curiosity  in  his  plain 
household.  He  once  descended  a nearly  perpendicular 
precipice  of  the  Humpback  Mountain  by  the  use  of 
his  fingers  and  toes,  and  drank  water  which  issued 
from  its  side,  whilst  his  brother  Frank  tremblingly 
looked  on,  expecting  him  to  be  dashed  to  pieces  on 
the  rocks  below,  imagining  that  nobody  would  believe 
him  when  he  told  what  his  sensible  brother  had  done. 
His  wife,  Margaret  Douglas,  was  the  sister  of  Parson 
Douglas,  a learned  Scotchman,  and  distinguished  in  the 
annals  of  Albemarle  County  as  one  of  its  remarkable 
men.  Mrs.  Meriwether  never  lost  the  consciousness 
that  she  was  descended  from  the  most  chivalrous  of 
the  gallant  men  of  the  old  world.  Their  son  Charles 
was  a very  handsome,  accomplished  man.  He  perfect- 
ed his  medical  education  by  attending  the  College  of 
Physicians  at  Edinburgh.  He  removed  to  Tennessee, 
where  he  married  and  left  a family  of  children.  Wil- 
liam Douglas,  another  son,  continued  to  live  at  Meri- 
wether’s place  until  he  died,  upwards  of  eighty  years 
old.  He  had  the  characteristics  of  the  Meriwethers ; 
simplicity  of  manners  and  dress,  truth,  and  honesty. 

Frank  Meriwether,  the  second  son  of  Thomas  Meri- 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


95 


wether,  attended  William  and  Mary  College.  He 
studied  medicine  for  some  time  afterwards.  The  war 
between  France  and  England  prevented  his  going  to 
Edinburgh.  He  therefore  declined  practising  profes- 
sionally. He  married  Martha  Jamieson,  the  sister  of 
Colonel  Jamieson,  of  the  Virginia  Continental  line. 
He  removed  to  Georgia  in  1784-5.  Within  the  circle 
of  his  acquaintances,  he  was  thought  the  best  man  in 
the  world.  The  first  settlers  of  upper  Georgia  suffered 
very  much  from  sickness.  He  laid  out  a portion  of  the 
proceeds  of  his  crop  every  year  in  medicines,  and 
devoted  as  much  of  his  time  as  was  called  for  in  attend- 
ing upon  the  sick  without  charge.  The  equanimity  of 
his  temper,  kindness  of  heart,  and  clearness  of  under- 
standing, enabled  him  to  do  in  the  best  manner  all  that 
duty  and  benevolence  required  of  him.  He  had  no 
pride  or  vanity.  His  house  was  the  collecting-place  for 
the  poor  and  ignorant,  the  rich  and  learned.  He  made 
himself  equally  acceptable  to  every  one.  His  truth 
and  integrity  were  so  obvious  in  his  countenance,  and 
in  all  that  he  said  and  did,  that  no  one  ever  questioned 
either.  He  once  sold  a horse  he  had  to  spare  to  a 
neighbor  who  wanted  one.  His  son  Thomas,  coming 
up  after  the  sale  was  completed,  by  the  payment  of  the 
price,  asked  his  father  what  he  had  received  for  the 
horse.  He  answered,  seventy  dollars.  “ Why,”  says 
Tom,  “ I do  not  think,  father,  that  the  horse  is  worth 
more  than  sixty.”  “ Well,  son,  if  you  think  so,  I am  not 
willing  to  take  more  ” — and  returned  ten  to  the  pur- 
chaser. This  was  a sample  of  the  conduct  of  his  whole 
life.  His  wife  seemed  to  think,  that  if  there  was  not 
more  stir  in  the  family  than  her  husband  made,  all 
would  go  to  the  dogs.  She  was  constantly  in  a state 
of  restless  anxiety.  Her  face  was  drawn  to  a pucker 


96 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


by  the  small-pox,  which  she  caught  when  the  British 
Army  scattered  it  through  Virginia.  She  was  con- 
stantly afraid  that  the  boys  would  be  shot  when  hunt- 
ing, or  drowned  when  fishing.  A stranger  riding  up 
to  the  house  one  day,  and  hearing  her  crying,  Where 
is  V al  X Where  is  Nick  ? was  greatly  distressed,  imagin- 
ing that  the  Indians  might  have  carried  off  some  of  the 
children,  and  was  amusingly  relieved  upon  finding  that 
her  alarm  was  about  two  grown  sons,  who  had  not  re- 
turned to  the  house  at  the  usual  time. 

The  intermixture  of  the  inherited  qualities  of  the 
children  of  Frank  Meriwether  and  his  wife  was  very 
striking.  Tom,  the  oldest,  had  his  father’s  aptitude  for 
knowledge,  truthfulness,  and  integrity,  and  his  mother’s 
restless,  uneasy  disposition,  lie  was  very  industrious 
and  economical.  He  built  his  own  house  and  chimneys, 
and  made  and  mended  his  farming  tools.  He  was 
a militia  soldier  in  the  revolutionary  war.  When 
he  was  old,  he  loved  to  tell  how  he  served  under  the 
Marquis  La  Fayette ; — how  that  great  general  and 
good  man  selected  him  from  all  his  army,  as  its  best 
rifleman,  to  fire  upon  Cornwallis’s  lookout  at  an  impor- 
tant place  of  observation ; and  how,  after  his  fire,  the 
soldier  disappeared : and  then  a twinge  could  be  seen 
in  his  face,  as  if  he  felt  that  a human  beiug  might  have 
died  by  his  hand.  Though  brave,  he  was  near  fainting 
in  the  ranks,  upon  seeing  a wounded  soldier  pass  by  on 
a white  horse,  showing  very  plainly  the  trickling  blood 
as  it  flowed  from  a mortal  wound.  He  was  ouce  in  a 
skirmish,  when  the  detachment  to  which  he  belonged 
was  obliged  by  superior  force  to  fly.  He  refused  to 
run  until  he  got  into  woods  close  by,  where  he  could 
run  without  being  seen  by  the  British.  The  only  fear 
he  seemed  sensible  of,  was  the  fear  of  doing  wrong. 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


97 


His  scrupulousness  subjected  him  to  many  difficulties. 
He  would  not  administer  upon  estates,  nor  perform  the 
duties  of  a justice  of  the  peace,  lest  he  might  not  do 
exactly  what  the  official  oath  required. 

He  was  so  modest  and  diffident  when  young,  that 
he  found  it  difficult  to  address  any  young  lady  upon 
the  subject  of  marriage.  Yet  he  was  constantly  in 
love.  Rebekah  Mathews,  the  daughter  of  Governor 
Mathews,  had  the  shrewdness  to  divine  his  wishes, 
when  she  became  the  object  of  his  devotion,  and  said 
yes,  whilst  the  question  was  sticking  in  his  throat. 
His  worth  was  not  set  off  by  fine  clothes,  nor  very 
polished  manners.  He  put  on  a cloth  coat  when  he 
married  the  Governor’s  daughter.  It  was  the  first  and 
the  last  time  that  he  ever  wore  any  thing  which  looked 
like  finery.  He  worked  with  his  own  hands  very 
industriously  from  early  youth  to  his  death.  He  com- 
menced life  with  two  or  three  negroes  and  a small  tract 
of  land.  He  died  worth  sixty  thousand  dollars.  He 
never  speculated,  was  exceedingly  social  and  kind  in 
his  temper,  and  ardent  in  his  feelings.  He  talked  with 
enthusiasm  about  all  thing’s  in  which  he  took  an  inter- 
est,  and  especially  politics.  He  was  a Federalist,  and 
idolized  General  Washington  as  the  ancients  used  to  do 
their  deceased  great  men,  whom  they  made  gods  of. 
He  hated  Mr.  Jefferson  with  a perfect  hatred.  His 
Fourth  of  July  toast  was,  Jefferson,  Madison,  and  the 
Devil,  a trio  of  similar  character  and  common  purposes, 
lie  and  his  brother-in-law,  William  Barnett,  the  mem- 
ber of  Congress,  attended  together  the  sale  of  James 
Olive’s  property,  their  brother-in-law.  Among  other 
things,  they  bought  a bed  for  Olive’s  wife.  William 
Barnett,  the  leading  democrat  of  the  country,  sent  for 
a negro  to  carry  the  bed  to  Olive’s  dwelling.  Tom 


98 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


Meriwether  took  the  bed  upon  his  own  shoulders,  and 
carried  it.  to  show  how  much  of  pretence  there  was  in 
the  assertions  of  the  Democrats,  that  pride  was  mono- 
polized by  the  Federalists. 

He  valued  knowledge  very  much,  but  was  too  con- 
stantly employed  in  labor,  and  the  performance  of 
social  and  domestic  duties,  to  become  very  learned. 
What  he  read  he  understood  well  and  relished  greatly. 
He  was  familiar  with  the  rudiments  of  geography,  his- 
tory, mathematics,  and  astronomy.  His  kindness  was 
only  limited  by  the  extent  of  his  capacity  to  relieve 
those  who  stood  in  need  of  his  services.  He  never 
knew  any  one  in  sickness  or  difficulty  whom  he  did  not 
assist  if  he  could. 

In  old  times,  when  Georgia  settlements  were  new, 
tobacco  was  the  staple  production  of  the  State.  The 
roads  were  very  bad.  It  was  difficult  for  the  planters 
to  get  their  crops  to  market.  Tom  Meriwether  was 
usually  delayed  with  his,  by  the  time  which  he  gave  to 
others,  in  aiding  them  to  get  their  wagons  and  rolling 
hogsheads  out  of  the  mud  and  up  the  hills.  He  had 
the  greatest  reverence  for  truth,  and  never  violated  its 
spirit,  knowingly,  in  the  least.  A man  who  never  pre- 
varicated, was  always  dressed  in  the  oddest  fashion, 
wore  a long  cue,  and  talked  enthusiastically,  was  an  odd- 
ity in  society,  and  could  not  mingle  freely  with  it.  He 
was  therefore  almost  unknown,  except  to  his  kin  and 
neighbors.  No  one  ever  followed  with  more  constancy 
the  golden  rule  of  doing  unto  others  as  you  would  they 
should  do  unto  you.  He  was  an  affectionate  father, 
obliging  neighbor,  and  kind  master.  He  took  great 
pleasure  in  giving  delight  to  children,  shooting  and 
hunting  with  them  when  they  desired  him.  His  love 
for  his  wife  was  without  intermission,  and  extended  to 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


99 


the  extent  of  his  loving  nature.  His  gallantry  equalled 
his  love.  When  she  tired  of  sleeping  on  one  side,  and 
turned  on  the  other,  he  alway  crossed  over,  if  awake, 
that  they  might  be  ever  face  to  face.  Only  one  time 
in  his  life  did  he  ever  put  any  constraint  upon  her. 
They  were  attending  preaching  at  a camp-meeting, 
where  there  was  a great  religious  excitement.  It  was 
Sunday,  and  the  altar  before  the  stand  for  the  preach- 
ers became  filled  with  shouting  converts  and  devoted 
believers.  Mrs.  Meriwether  looked  upon  their  glow- 
ing, happy  faces,  until  she  began  to  sympathize  with 
them.  Tom  Meriwether  became  alarmed,  lest  his 
wife’s  love  might  be  drawn  away  from  him,  and  placed 
upon  wrhat  he  took  no  interest  in.  He  seized  her  arm, 
and  led  her  forcibly  away.  His  matter-of-fact,  demon- 
strative mind,  was  unable  to  arrive  at  truth  through 
the  imagination. 

Col.  Fleming  Jordan,  Dr.  David  Eeese,  Dr.  George 
Meriwether,  and  David  Meriwether,  Tom  Meriwether’s 
sons  and  sons-in-law,  settled  in  Jasper  County.  Tom 
Meriwether’s  affectionate  temper  could  not  bear  the 
separation  from  his  children.  He  and  his  wife  left 
their  happy  home  to  follow  after  them.  When  Mrs. 
Meriwether  died,  he  distributed  his  property  among 
his  descendants,  reserving  for  himself  only  a small  tract 
of  land,  and  two  old  faithful  negroes  ; where  and  with 
whom  he  labored  day  by  day,  never  forgetting  for  a 
moment  the  absence  of  her  who  had  been  by  his  side 
for  more  than  forty  years. 

Ann,  Tom  Meriwether’s  oldest  child,  married  Col. 
Fleming  Jordan,  now  of  Jasper.  She  was  the  most  in- 
dustrious of  housekeepers,  and  yet  found  time  to  visit 
all  the  sick  and  suffering  about  her,  and  to  do  for  them 
whatever  her  kindness  and  medical  skill  suggested. 


100 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


Frank,  Tom  Meriwether’s  oldest  son,  married  Miss 
Butler. 

Dr.  George,  liis  second  son,  married,  first,  Miss  Jor- 
dan, a sister  of  Col.  F.  Jordan,  and  after  lier  death,  Miss 
Watkins,  a niece  of  Governor  Early. 

Mary,  his  second  daughter,  married  Dr.  Reese,  who 
has  been  for  a long  time  a trustee  of  Franklin  College, 
frequently  a member  of  the  Legislature,  and  is  now  a 
member  of  Congress.  Fie  is  a man  of  kind  temper, 
good  sense,  and  excellent  character. 

David,  the  youngest  son  of  Tom  Meriwether,  was  one 
of  the  electors  of  President  and  Vice-President  in  1840, 
has  married  his  fourth  wife,  and  is  one  of  the  wealthy 
planters  of  Georgia.  He  is  a man  of  industry,  truth 
and  probity. 

Valentine,  the  second  son  of  Frank  Meriwether, 
married  Barbara  Cosby.  He  has  been  at  all  times 
exceedingly  industrious  and  economical,  and  is  as 
remarkable  for  his  skill  and  success  in  planting,  as  his 
father  and  brother  Nick  for  doctoring  diseases.  He  is 
so  careful  in  selecting  seed,  tending,  picking,  and  gin- 
ning his  crops,  that  a sample  of  his  cotton  has  been 
kept  for  many  years  in  New  York,  as  the  test  by  which 
to  determine  the  quality  of  other  cotton.  His,  and  his 
son  Frank’s  crops  of  the  last  year,  sold  in  the  Augusta 
market,  the  best  up-country  market  in  the  United 
States,  half  a cent  for  the  pound  higher  than  any  other 
crops.  Valentine  Meriwether  has  his  mother’s  anxious 
temper.  He  is  often  alarmed  lest  his  family  should 
starve,  though  his  corn-cribs  are  always  the  fullest  in 
his  neighborhood. 

Nick,  the  third  son  of  Frank  Meriwether,  has  his 
father’s  kindness  and  constitutional  aptness  for  under- 
standing and  curing  diseases.  He  devoted  his  time, 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


101 


day  and  night  for  several  years,  to  attending  the  sick 
without  pay,  and  until  his  friends  prevailed  upon  him 
to  take  a doctor’s  degree,  and  practice  as  a professional 
physician. 

Mary,  Frank  Meriwether's  oldest  daughter,  married 
William  Barnett.  She  was  so  devotedly  attached  to 
her  husband,  that  upon  being  informed  that  his  recovery 
from  the  sickness  then  afflicting  him  was  hopeless,  be- 
came frantic  and  died. 

Mildred,  the  second  daughter  of  Frank  Meriwether, 
married  Joel  Barnett,  the  brother  of  William. 

Elizabeth,  the  third  daughter,  married  William 
Mathews,  son  of  Governor  Mathews. 

Lucy  married  Groves  Howard. 

Margaret,  Dr.  John  Bradley. 

Nancy,  William  Glenn ; and 

Sarah,  James  Olive.  James  Olive  was  very  apt  at 
acquiring  knowledge.  He  used  to  say  that  much  more 
credit  was  given  to  General  Washington  than  he  was 
entitled  to,  and  that  he  could  himself  have  done  much 
greater  things  if  he  had  had  the  same  advantages, 
though  he  never  did  any  thing  of  the  least  value  with 
those  which  he  had. 

David  Meriwether,  the  third  son  of  Thomas,  and 
brother  of  Frank,  was  a very  quiet,  upright  man.  He 
sold  his  plantation  in  Amherst,  Virginia,  now  worth 
forty  or  fifty  thousand  dollars,  to  follow  his  kinsfolk  to 
Georgia,  where  he  bought  land  worth  now  less  than 
one  thousand  dollars.  He  married  Mary  Harvie,  a 
very  sensible,  good  woman,  and  one  of  the  best  of 
wives.  She  was  so  fat  when  old,  that  she  seldom  left 
the  house.  Her  husband  was  usually  found  by  her 
side.  She  weighed  between  three  and  four  hundred, 
and  was  tall  in  proportion.  He  was  low  in  stature, 


102 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


and  weighed  about  one  hundred  and  twenty.  Her 
seat  was  a broad  split-bottom  chair.  When  she  rose, 
she  put  each  hand  upon  the  opposite  knobs  and  ascend- 
ed so  gradually,  and  for  so  long  a time,  that  she  looked 
as  if  she  would  never  stop.  They  had  but  one  child, 
a daughter,  who  was  beautiful,  sprightly  and  intelli- 
gent. She  married  Col.  Benjamin  Taliaferro. 

Thomas  Meriwether’s  daughter,  Mildred,  married 
John  Gilmer. 

Mary  married  Peachy  Ridgeway  Gilmer. 

Elizabeth  married  Thomas  Johnson,  of  Louisa, 
Virginia,  called  Sheriff  Tom.  They  had  a large  family 
of  children.  Nicholas,  the  oldest,  moved  to  Georgia. 
David,  Frank  and  Tom,  married  and  continued  to  live 
in  Virginia  until  their  deaths.  Each  of  them  had  a 
family  of  children.  They  were  social  and  respectable 
men.  I knew  them  all  so  slightly  that  I am  unable  to 
give  any  particulars  of  tlieir  lives, 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Johnson’s  daughter,  Lucy,  married 
William  Quarles.  They  were  exceedingly  industrious 
and  economical.  Having  no  children,  they  worked, 
saved  and  accumulated,  until  they  were  worth  two 
hundred  thousand  dollars. 

Mrs.  Quarles  had  such  an  abhorrence  of  dirt,  that 
the  little  left  by  the  feet  of  their  few  visitors  annoyed 
her  very  much.  She  kept  the  fences  about  her  house, 
and  to  the  far  gate  in  front,  whitewashed.  The  little 
negroes  were  usually  employed  in  picking  up  straws, 
twigs,  and  feathers.  William  Quarles  was  devoted  to 
his  wife.  He  died  first,  and  left  her  all  his  estate,  ex- 
cept some  small  legacies  to  his  own  relations  at  her 
request.  Fifty  thousand  dollars  of  his  estate  was  in 
United  States  Bank  stock,  and  prized  so  highly  by  her 
that  she  continued  to  hold  on  to  it,  until  it  became 
valueless.  . 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


103 


Mary  Johnson  married  Harry  Winston,  and  Re- 
bekah,  Joseph  Winston.  No  particulars  are  known 
of  them,  except  that  one  had  a large  family  of  very 
pretty  daughters.  I passed  a day  with  them  when  I 
was  nineteen. 

Elizabeth  married  the  Rev.  John  Poindexter. 
Their  nephew,  George  Poindexter,  Governor  of  the 
State  of  Mississippi  and  its  Senator  in  Congress,  was 
nurtured  and  educated  by  them. 

Sally  married  Richard  Overton.  They  lived  on 
the  side  of  Monticello,  and  high  enough  to  command 
a beautiful  view  of  the  country  about  Charlottesville. 
Mrs.  Overton  was  a cheerful,  chatty,  stirring  woman, 
as  she  was  entitled  to  be  by  inheritance  from  her  Meri- 
wether mother.  Mr.  Overton  lolled  about  the  house 
more  than  he  attended  to  business.  They  moved  to 
Tennessee. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Johnson’s  daughter,  Nancy,  married 
Charles  Barret. 

Sally  Meriwether,  daughter  of  Thomas  and  sister  of 
Frank,  married  Michael  Anderson.  Their  children 
were  Thomas,  Reuben,  Pouncey,  Richard,  and  Nancy, 
who  married  Edmund  Thompson. 

Nancy  Meriwether,  another  daughter  of  Thomas, 
married  Richard  Anderson.  Their  children  were  Jas- 
per, Nicholas  (who  moved  to  Kentucky),  David, 
Elizabeth  (who  married  Waddy  Thompson),  Sarah 
who  married  William  Clark  (who  moved  to  Ken- 
tucky), Cicely,  who  married  William  Kerr  in  Ken- 
tucky, Nancy,  who  married,  first  Mr.  Watson,  and 
afterwards  Dr.  Lends  Carr,  and  removed  to  Kentucky. 

Many  of  the  descendants  of  Sally  and  Nancy 
Meriwether  have  been  distinguished  for  wealth  and 

O 

worth,  but  the  knowledge  of  them  is  too  indistinct  to 
be  written  about. 


104 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


Lucy  Meriwether,  another  daughter  of  Thomas, 
married  William  Lewis,  and  after  his  death,  John 
Marks,  each  distinguished  officers  in  the  revolutionary 
army.  Ller  person  was  perfect  and  her  activity  be- 
yond her  sex.  She  was  sincere,  truthful,  industrious, 
and  kind  without  limit.  She  removed  from  Virginia 
to  Georgia  with  her  second  husband,  along1  with  her 
brother  Frank  and  other  relatives.  Soon  after  her 
husband’s  death  she  returned  to  Virginia,  and  resided 
at  the  place  at  which  she  had  lived  Avith  her  first  hus- 
band, about  seven  miles  west  of  Charlottesville,  on  an 
elevation  of  the  south-west  mountains,  Avhere  she  con- 
tinued to  reside  to  a very  old  age,  serving  every  body 
whom  she  could,  who  stood  in  need  of  her  assistance. 

Meriwether  Lewis,  Mrs.  Marks’s  oldest  son  by 
her  first  husband,  inherited  the  energy,  courage,  acti- 
vity,  and  good  understanding  of  his  admirable  mother. 
He  acquired  in  youth  hardy  habits  and  a firm  constitu- 
tion. lie  possessed  in  the  highest  degree  self-posses- 
sion in  danger,  the  great  quality  of  great  generals. 

From  1790  to  1795,  the  Cherokee  Indians  were 
very  troublesome  to  the  frontier  people  of  upper 
Georgia ; stealing  their  negroes  and  horses ; occasion- 
ally killing  defenceless  women  and  children,  and 
exciting  alarm  lest  more  extensive  mischief  might  be 
perpetrated.  During  the  restless,  uneasy  state  of  the 
people,  created  by  the  constant  apprehension  of  attack, 
a report  reached  the  Virginia  settlement  on  Broad 
River,  that  the  Cherokees  Avere  on  the  war  path  for 
Georgia.  Men,  women  and  children  collected  together. 
It  was  agreed  that  the  house  where  they  were  could 
not  be  defended,  and  might  easily  be  burnt.  They, 
therefore,  sought  safety  in  a deep  secluded  forest. 
Whilst  they  were  assembled  round  a fire  at  night,  pre- 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


105 


paring  something  to  eat,  the  report  of  a gun  was 
heard.  Indians ! Indians ! was  heard  from  every 
tongue.  Mothers  clasped  their  infants  in  their  arms, 
whilst  the  older  children  hung  around  them.  The 
men  seized  their  guns — all  were  in  commotion  and  dis- 
may. There  belonged  to  the  company  a boy,  who 
alone  retained  any  self-possession.  When  every  one 
was  hesitating  what  to  do,  the  light  of  the  fire  was 
suddenly  extinguished  by  his  throwing  a vessel  of 
water  upon  it.  When  all  was  dark,  the  sense  of 
safety  came  upon  every  one.  That  boy  was  Meri- 
wether Lewis.  When  he  arrived  at  maturity  his  love 
of  action  and  enterprising  spirit  led  him  into  the 
regular  army.  ITe  was  the  private  secretary  of  Pre- 
sident Jefferson,  when  the  government  determined  to 
have  the  territory  of  Louisiana  explored,  which  had 
shortly  before  been  purchased  of  France.  His  known 
intrepidity  and  habit  of  perseverance  in  the  execution 
of  his  determinations,  pointed  him  out  as  the  fittest 
person  to  head  an  expedition  for  that  purpose.  By 
the  permission  of  Mr.  Jefferson  he  selected  for  his  aid 
and  companion  his  friend  Capt.  Clark  of  the  army. 
He  passed  from  St.  Louis,  through  difficulties  which 
few  men  would  have  undertaken,  and  still  fewer  could 
have  overcome ; and  acquired  for  his  country  by  the 
possession  ivhicli  he  took  of  the  Pacific  coast,  the  title 
which  was  acknowledged  to  be  the  best  to  the  Oregon 
Territory  in  the  late  controversy  with  Great  Britain. 
In  his  expedition  to  the  Pacific  he  discovered  a gold 
mine.  The  fact  was  not  made  public,  nor  the  place 
pointed  out  at  the  time,  lest  it  might  become  known 
to  the  Indians  and  Spaniards,  and  thereby  be  a public 
injury  instead  of  a public  benefit.  He  informed  his 
friends,  upon  his  return  home,  of  the  discovery  which 


106 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


he  had  made,  and  his  intention  of  making  out  such  a 
description  of  the  place,  that  it  might  he  found  if  he 
should  die  before  the  information  could  be  made  use- 
ful to  the  country.  As  he  was  travelling  from  St. 
Louis,  the  seat  of  government  of  the  Missouri  Terri- 
tory, of  which  he  was  then  Governor,  to  Washington 
City,  he  stopped  for  the  night  at  a little  inn  on  the 
roadside,  somewhere  in  Tennessee,  hi  the  morning 
his  throat  was  found  cut,  and  he  dead  ; whether  by  his 
own  hand,  or  others  in  search  of  his  account  of  the 
place  where  gold  was  to  be  found,  is  not  certainly 
known. 

Reuben  Lewis,  the  second  son  of  Mrs.  Marks,  was 
too  irritable  and  impatient  tempered  to  be  very  suc- 
cessful in  seeking  public  distinction.  He  was  Indian 
Agent  in  the  far  West  for  a while.  Lie  married  his 
first  cousin,  Mildred  Dabney,  a very  estimable  woman. 
They  had  no  children. 

Jane,  Mrs.  Marks’s  only  daughter  by  her  first  hus- 
band, was  a very  worthy  woman.  She  married  her 
first  cousin,  Edmund  Anderson,  whose  drunken,  spend- 
thrift habits  brought  his  family  to  poverty. 

Mrs.  Marks  had  two  children  by  her  second  hus- 
band. 

Her  son,  Dr.  John  Marks,  was  very  intellectual, 
but  so  defectively  organized  that  he  went  deranged, 
and  died  in  a lunatic  asylum.  Her  daughter  Mary 
married  William  Moore,  a man  of  fortune,  the  son  of 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Moore  of  Broad  River,  and  adopted  son 
of  Mrs.  Davenport,  his  aunt. 

Jane,  the  youngest  daughter  of  Thomas  Meriwether, 
was  very  pretty,  very  rich,  and  very  much  courted. 
Going  through  a forest,  searching  for  a stick,  it  is  so 
difficult  to  find  one  perfectly  straight  and  free  from  knots, 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


107 


that  a crooked  one  is  taken  from  necessity  as  the  out- 
skirts are  left.  Jane  married  Samuel  Dabney.  The 
cleverness  of  their  mother  has  been  shown  in  the 
talents  and  success  of  her  children.  They  were  Wil- 
liam, Samuel,  Thomas,  Frank,  Elizabeth,  George, 
Charles,  Richard,  Edmund,  John,  and  Mildred. 
Richard  was  the  most  intellectual  poet  of  Virginia. 
He  wras  so  severely  burnt  in  the  Richmond  theatre, 
in  the  winter  of  1811-12,  that  he  never  recovered. 
Frank  was  a captain  in  the  regular  army  in  the  last 
war  with  Great  Britain.  Charles  married  Elizabeth 
Price,  of  Hanover.  Mildred  married  her  cousin, 
Reuben  Lewis.  Edmund  and  John  married  Ann  and 
Eliza  Blount,  the  near  kinswomen  of  Governor  Blount 
of  Tennessee. 


THE  BIBBS. 

Miss  Sally  Wyatt  was  a native  of  Charlotte 
County,  Virginia.  Her  brother,  Joseph  Wyatt,  repre- 
sented, in  the  Senate  of  Virginia,  for  more  than  twenty 
years,  a part  of  Mr.  John  Randolph’s  congressional 
district.  Sally  Wyatt,  and  a cousin  of  the  same  name, 
married,  at  the  same  time,  two  cousins  by  the  name  of 
Bibb.  Both  the  ladies  were  talented  and  aspiring. 
The  first-born  of  each  was  a son.  Mrs.  Sally  Bibb  and 
her  husband  moved  to  Georgia.  Her  cousin  and  her 
husband  to  Kentucky.  In  their  after-correspondence 
each  of  the  ladies  dwrelt  with  great  delight  on  the 
beauty  and  promising  genius  of  her  son,  predicting  that 
he  would,  before  he  died,  be  President  of  the  United 
States. 


108 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


Mrs.  Sally  Bibb’s  son  was  afterwards  wel  1 known 
as  Dr.  William  Wyatt  Bibb  of  Georgia;  lier  cousin’s 
as  Mr.  George  Bibb  of  Kentucky.  Each  for  a long 
time  showed  by  his  rapid  strides  ahead  of  others,  that 
he  might  be  the  foremost  man  of  his  country  in  the 
race  for  office.  William  Wyatt  Bibb  acquired  his 
professional  education  at  the  Medical  School  in  Phila- 
delphia, then  decidedly  the  best  in  the  United  States, 
where  he  graduated  with  distinguished  reputation. 
He  located  himself  in  the  town  of  Petersburg,  and 
practised  physic  until  the  demands  of  the  people  re- 
quired him  to  devote  his  talents  to  the  public  service. 
Pie  married  Miss  Mary  Freeman,  the  only  daughter 
of  Col.  Holman  Freeman,  then  the  beauty  of  Broad 
River.  My  first  knowledge  of  Dr.  Bibb  was  his  res- 
cuing me  and  several  other  boys,  scholars  of  Dr.  Wad- 
dell, from  an  old  tumbling  down  warehouse  in  Peters- 
burg, into  which  we  had  retreated  upon  the  approach 
of  a terrible  hurricane.  Shortly  after  his  marriage. 
Dr.  Bibb  removed  to  a plantation  in  Wilks  County,  a 
mile  or  two  from  Broad  River,  and  a few  miles  from 
the  residence  of  Col.  Taliaferro. 

Dr.  Bibb  was  a member  of  the  Georgia  Legislature 
at  a very  early  age  for  entrance  iuto  public  life. 
William  H.  Crawford  and  John  Forsyth  had,  perhaps, 
more  of  the  confidence  of  the  authorities  of  the  State 
than  Dr.  Bibb.  George  M.  Troup  alone  rivalled  him 
in  the  love  of  the  people.  He  was  elected  a member 
of  the  House  of  Representatives  in  1806,  and,  some 
years  after,  Senator  in  Congress.  He  was  a very  influ- 
ential member  during  the  restrictive  commercial  policy 
of  Mr.  Jefferson’s  administration,  and  afterwards  one  of 
Mr  Madison’s  most  confidential  advisers.  The  passage 
of  the  compensation  law  excited  the  indignation  of  the 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


109 


people  to  such  fury  that  all  the  members  of  Congress 
from  Georgia,  except  one,  were  turned  out  of  office, 
though  the  measure  was  not  voted  for  by  some  of 
them ; because,  as  the  people  said,  they  talked  at  all 
times  upon  every  subject,  but  objected  not  a word 
against  getting  increased  pay  per  day.  Mr.  Madison 
soothed  Dr.  Bibb’s  mortification  for  this  withdrawal  of 
their  confidence  by  his  constituents,  by  appointing  him 
Governor  of  Alabama  Territory.  He  accepted  the 
appointment,  and  removed  to  Huntsville.  Two  years 
after  the  people  of  Alabama  organized  a State  Govern- 
ment. Dr.  Bibb  was  their  first  Governor.  During1 

O 

the  summer  of  1820,  whilst  riding  rapidly  to  escape 
from  a shower  of  rain,  his  horse  stumbled,  and  injured 
him  so  that  he  died. 

Dr.  Bibb  was  a tall  spare  man,  with  head  and 
features  admirably  expressive  of  his  mild,  benevolent 
temper,  his  sincere  upright  character,  and  good  under- 
standing. He  was  in  the  prime  of  life  at  the  time  of 
his  death.  Had  he  lived  on  without  accident  he  might 
have  realized  his  mother’s  hopes  and  won  her  bet. 
He  was  the  intimate  friend  and  political  associate  of 
W m.  IT.  Crawford.  He  had  two  children,  a son  and 
a daughter.  George  Baily,  his  son,  acquired  the  ele- 
ments of  his  education  at  the  Pestilozzian  school,  which 
was  established  and  sustained  for  some  years  in  Georgia 
through  the  influence  and  patronage  of  Vm.  H.  Craw- 
ford and  his  father.  He  resides  in  Alabama,  and  is 
one  of  the  richest  men  of  the  South.  Dr.  Bibb’s  daugh- 
ter married  Mr.  Alfred  Scott  of  Montgomery,  a gentle- 
man of  talents,  education,  and  great  wealth.  Mrs.  Bibb, 
who  was  so  charming  when  young,  still  lives  a good- 
looking  widow.  Dr.  Bibb,  though  not  of  the  blood  of 
the  Broad  Biver  people,  resided  among  them,  and  was 


110 


FIRST0  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


related  to  them  by  the  marriage  of  bis  mother,  after 
his  father’s  death,  to  Mr.  Win.  Barnett,  and  the  mar- 
riage of  his  youngest  brother,  B.  S.  Bibb,  to  my 
youngest  sister. 

Dr.  Bibb  had  five  brothers : Thomas,  Peyton,  John 
Dandredge,  Joseph  and  Benajah  Smith;  and  two  sisters, 
Dolly  and  Martha.  Thomas  was  a man  of  talents,  energy, 
and  possessed  of  great  wealth.  He  married  a daughter 
of  Capt.  Thompson  of  Petersburg,  and  soon  after  re- 
moved, along  with  his  father-in-law  and  several  other 
family  connections,  to  the  valley  of  the  Tennessee 
Elver,  in  Upper  Alabama.  He  was  a member  of  the 
Legislature,  President  of  the  Senate,  and,  for  a while, 
Governor  of  the  State. 

Peyton  was  an  honest,  warm-hearted,  enthusiastic 
man.  He  occasionally  became  so  devoted  to  aiding 
others  on  in  what  he  believed,  without  doubting,  to  be 
the  straight  way  to  heaven,  as  to  give  himself  up  to 
preaching.  Pie  married  a great  niece  of  Old  Tom 
Cobb,  who  lived,  according  to  some  accounts,  one 
hundred  and  twenty  years,  according  to  others,  only 
one  hundred  and  eleven,  and  married,  when  one 
hundred  and  ten,  a young  woman  of  eighteen.  Mrs. 
Bibb  inherited,  or  received  by  way  of  legacy,  a part 
of  his  estate. 

John  Dandredge  married  a daughter  of  Mr.  John 
Oliver  of  Petersburg,  whose  wealth  enabled  him  to 
quit  the  profession  of  law  for  planting.  He  removed 
to  Alabama,  and  died  before  he  arrived  at  middle 
age. 

Joseph  was  a very  worthy  man.  He  was  educated 
for  a physician,  but  became  so  deaf  that  he  declined 
practice.  He  married  Miss  Dubose,  a sister  of  Mrs. 
Bobert  Toombs,  and,  after  her  death,  Miss . 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


Ill 


Benajali  Smith  married  L.  A.  Sophia  Gilmer,  and 
soon  after  moved  to  Alabama.  Ide  is  an  industrious, 
intelligent,  wealthy  planter.  He  has  been  frequently 
a member  of  the  Legislature,  and  is  now  Senator  from 
Montgomery  County.  Though  he  is  not  a lawyer  by 
profession,  the  Legislature  showed  its  great  confidence 
in  his  integrity  and  capacity  by  making  him  Judge  of 
the  County  Court  of  Montgomery. 

Hr.  Bibb’s  oldest  sister  married  Alexander  Pope,  a 
gentleman  of  taste  and  intelligence.  He  moved  from 
Georgia  to  Alabama,  where  he  held,  for  many  years, 
some  office  under  the  Government  of  the  United 
States. 

Martha  married  Fleming  Freeman,  son  of  Col. 
Holman  Freeman,  who  was  one  of  the  first  settlers  on 
Broad  Elver,  and  a Whig  leader  under  Gen.  Elijah 
Clark.1 


, NANCY  HART. 

A high  hill  at  the  northwest  corner  of  my  father’s 
plantation  jutted  into  and  overlooked  a long  stretch  of 
Broad  Rive]’.  The  strong  current  of  the  river,  when 
swelled  by  heavy  rains,  formed  a passage  at  its  base. 
That  pass-way  was  called,  in  former  times,  Kennedy’s 
gate,  from  the  last  Broad  River  beaver-trapper,  whose 
hut  remained  standing  close  by  when  I was  a small 
boy.  I have  often  seen  from  the  top  of  that  hill  the 
wreck  of  a cabin  lodged  against  the  trees  on  the  oppo- 
site side  of  the  river,  by  the  great  freshet  of  1795.  It 
originally  stood  a mile  or  more  up  the  river,  and  nearly 
opposite  the  residence  of  Governor  Mathews.  It  was 


112 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


built  and  first  occupied  by  Nancy  Hart  and  her  bus- 
band.  The  cabin  was  called  Nancy  Hart’s,  because  her 
husband  was  nobody  when  she  was  by.  Nancy  Hart 
was  one  of  the  North  Carolina  emigrants.  She  was  a 
tall,  muscular,  red-headed,  cross-eyed  woman.  In  the 
contest  between  the  Whigs  and  Tories,  in  the  revolu- 
tionary war,  she  proved  herself  every  inch  a Whig. 
One  of  the  mistakes  of  the  Mother  Country,  in  her 
measures  for  exercising  absolute  dominion  over  her 
American  Colonies,  was  taxing  tea,  the  use  of  which 
was  considered  by  the  women  a mark  of  gentility. 
The  patience  with  which  they  bore  the  burdens  of  the 
war,  and  their  determined  spirit  in  urging  the  men  to 
perseverance  in  its  struggle,  contributed  greatly  to  its 
final  success.  Nancy  Hart’s  confident  courage  stirred 
into  patriotic  action  many  vacillating,  British-fearing 
men  of  the  times.  When  the  Whigs  of  upper  Georgia 
were  flying  from  the  murdering  and  plundering  of  the 
Tories  and  their  superiors,  she  stood  her  ground,  ever 
disposed  and  ready  to  defend  herself  and  hers  from  her 
country’s  foes. 

One  of  the  stories  told  about  her  after  she  left  the 
country,  was,  that  the  human  bones  said  to  have  been 
found  under  her  cabin,  when  it  was  washed  away  by 
the  freshet,  had  belonged  to  Tories,  whom  she  had 
killed.  The  tale  was  not  true,  and  did  great  injustice 
to  Nancy  Hart : but  its  belief  by  many  of  her  neigh- 
bors showed  their  opinion  of  her  slaying  capacity.  All 
agreed  that  she  knew  no  fear,  and  that  she  was  untir- 
ing in  attacking  the  Tories. 

One  of  my  father’s  negroes,  when  dying  with  the 
consumption,  imagined  that  apples,  such  as  he  used  to 
•eat  at  Lethe,  his  old  master’s  place  in  Virginia,  would 
cool  his  fever.  The  only  place  where  apples  could  be 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


113 


had  in  the  neighborhood  was  Nancy  Hart’s.  My  mo- 
ther, supposing  that  she  could  procure  them  more 
certainly  than  any  one  else,  went  to  Nancy  Hart’s 
cabin  for  that  purpose.  Soon  after  she  was  seated,  two 
men  rode  up,  and  asked  for  apples  for  their  longing 
wives.  Nancy  cursed  them  and  their  wives — swearing 
that  every  woman  in  the  country  got  into  the  family- 
way  when  her  apples  were  ripe  Though  apples  wrere 
given  to  the  men,  my  mother  was  deterred  by  Nancy’s 
rudeness  from  asking  for  any.  But  she  was  as  kind  as 
she  was  rude.  She  took  my  mother  into  the  orchard, 
and  filled  her  pockets,  which,  according  to  the  custom 
of  the  times,  were  two  little  bags  attached  to  a belt 
around  the  body,  for  holding  every  thing  she  had  use 
for  in  keeping  house. 

Nancy  Wilder,  another  of  the  North  Carolina  emi- 
grants, was  a lone  woman,  who  lived  in  the  slashes  of 
Long  Creek,  did  the  weaving  of  the  neighborhood,  and 
other  things  appropriate  for  lone  single  women  to  do. 
Nancy  Wilder  had  a web  of  cloth  to  weave  for  Nancy 
Hart,  which  she  had  more  than  once  promised  to  finish. 
Nancy  Hart,  going  for  her  cloth  when  she  was  assured 
she  should  have  it,  went  into  Nancy  Wilder’s  cabin, 
found  her  absent,  and  the  web  still  in  the  loom.  She 
commenced  cutting  from  the  loom  what  was  woven,  in- 
tending  to  leave  the  unfinished  part  for  Nancy  Wilder’s 
toll.  Whilst  thus  employed,  Nancy  Wilder  returned, 
and,  seeing  what  she  was  doing,  made  at  her.  Solomon 
Jennings  just  then  rode  up  with  the  warp  and  filling 
for  a web  of  cloth,  and,  hearing  a great  noise  in  the 
cabin,  jumped  off  his  horse,  and  ran  in.  He  found  the 
hands  of  each  of  the  women  clenched  in  the  other’s  hair, 
and  they  butting,  biting,  and  swearing  with  all  their 
might. 


114 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


The  restless  temper  and  fearless  spirit  which  had 
urged  Nancy  Hart  to  fight  for  liberty,  made  her  the 
best  backwoods  woman  after  the  war  ended.  She 
traced  the  bee  to  its  tree,  and  the  deer  to  its  lair, 
among  snakes  and  wild  beasts,  with  unequalled  success. 

When  civilization  began  to  extend  its  gentle  influ- 
ences over  the  frontier  people  of  upper  Georgia,  Nancy 
Hart  left  her  accustomed  haunts  for  the  West.  She 
settled  for  a while  on  the  Tombigbee.  A great  rain 
flooded  the  river,  destroyed  her  crop,  and  inclosed  her 
house  within  its  overflowing.  She  had  no  love  for  the 
Spaniards,  nor  for  the  ways  of  the  French,  her  neigh- 
bors. She  returned  to  Georgia,  and,  finding  her  old 
residence  occupied  by  others,  settled  in  Edgefield, 
South  Carolina. 

When  the  preached  word  was  heard  instead  of  the 
drum,  and  the  people’s  thoughts  began  to  be  occupied 
about  the  result  of  their  final  account,  instead  of  send- 
ing others  to  the  judgment-seat  unprepared,  Nancy 
Hart’s  conscience  became  troubled  about  her  future 
state.  A Methodist  Society  was  formed  in  her  neigh- 
borhood. She  went  to  the  house  of  worship  in  search 
of  relief.  She  found  the  good  people  assembled  in 
class-meeting,  and  the  door  closed  against  intruders. 
She  took  out  her  knife,  cut  the  fastening,  and  stalked 
in.  She  heard  how  the  wicked  might  work  out  their 
salvation, — became  a shouting  Christian,  fought  the 
Devil  as  manfully  as  she  had  fought  the  Tories,  and 
died  in  good  fellowship  with  the  saints  on  earth,  with 
bright  hopes  of  being  admitted  into  communion  with 
those  in  heaven. 

I was  a member  of  Congress  in  1828-9.  General 
Jackson’s  successful  election  to  the  Presidency  put  the 
ambitious  members  all  agog  to  attract  his  favorable 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


115 


notice.  One  of  the  means  used,  was  proposing  to  fill 
the  vacant  nitches  in  the  Rotunda  with  paintings 
descriptive  of  the  Battle  of  New  Orleans,  and  his  other 
great  victories.  I prepared  a resolution,  as  an  addition 
or  substitute,  to  fill  one  nitch  with  a painting  of  Nancy 
Hart  wading  Broad  River,  her  clothes  tucked  up  under 
one  arm,  a musket  under  the  other,  and  three  Tories 
ahead,  on  her  way  to  the  camp  of  the  Whigs,  to  deliver 
them  up  to  the  tender  mercies  of  Col.  Elijah  Clark. 


THE  JOHNSONS. 

Nicholas  Johnson  was  the  son  of  Thomas  John- 
son, of  Louisa  County,  Virginia,  and  Ann  Meriwether, 
the  daughter  of  Thomas  Meriwether,  of  Albemarle 
County.  Whilst  acting  as  deputy  sheriff  he  rendered 
himself  liable  to  arrest  for  some  act  of  violence.  To 
escape  the  danger,  he  left  Virginia  for  the  Broad  River 
settlement,  where  he  appeared  in  more  dashing  style 
than  had  ever  been  seen  in  that  hard-working,  econom- 
ical, simple-habited  frontier  community.  He  «was  at- 
tended by  a well-dressed  servant,  rode  a fine  blooded 
horse,  his  servant  another,  and  a third  followed  for  the 
relief  of  the  other  two.  His  dress  was  a blue  coat,  red 
waistcoat,  and  buff  pantaloons.  He  used  to  say  that 
when  a young  man  went  into  a crowd  so  dressed, 
every  body  made  way  for  him,  and  he  heard,  as  he 
passed  along,  Who  is  that  ? Who  is  that  ? His  person 
was  stout,  his  features  full  and  round,  his  complexion 
fair  and  florid,  his  voice  well  modulated,  and  his  ad- 
dress exceedingly  civil.  He  was  a constant  and  very 


116 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


plausible  talker.  He  united  grand  scheming  with  suc- 
cessful doing  in  a very  unusual  and  often  amusing  way. 
When  he  went  to  any  public  place,  a crowd  might 
generally  be  seen  gathered  about  him,  listening  to  his 
fervent  account  of  some  danger  which  threatened  the 
nation,  or  some  new  fashion  of  planting  corn,  tobacco, 
or  cotton.  His  land  was  very  poor,  and  his  plantation 
very  large,  with  granite  rocks  scattered  about  over  it. 
He  described  to  some  acquaintances  in  Augusta  the 
beauty  of  the  native  flowers  and  shrubs,  and  the  wild 
scenery  of  the  rocky  hills  about  him,  in  such  glowing 
terms,  that  they  planned  a special  visit  to  enjoy  the 
pleasure  of  the  sight. 

He  once  told  his  neighbor,  Dr.  Bradly,  a very 
bookish  planter,  in  seemingly  earnest  terms,  how  to 
make  a fortune  by  raising  hogs.  The  Doctor  was  nigh 
losing  the  entire  profits  of  a year’s  labor  by  following 
the  plan. 

He  married  Mary  Marks,  daughter  of  James  Marks, 
of  Broad  Biver.  He  lived  in  log  cabins  for  twenty 
years  after  his  marriage,  in  the  plainest  style.  The 
public  road  passed  through  his  land,  and  not  far  from 
his  residence.  He  fell  in  one  day  with  a pompous  fel- 
low, travelling  along  his  lane,  who  inquired  where  he 
could  get  his  breakfast,  and  descanted  largely  upon 
the  unfitness  of  the  accommodations  on  the  road  for  a 
gentleman.  Col.  Johnson  told  him  that  he  could  be 
served  at  his  house.  The  fellow  said  that  he  would 
turn  in  and  see  if  he  could  get  any  thing  to  suit  his 
taste.  Col.  Johnson  accompanied  him,  held  his  stirrup 
whilst  he  alighted,  ordered  the  best  to  be  got  for  his 
breakfast,  waited  upon  him  at  table,  and  never  ceased 
pressing  him  to  eat  until  he  could  eat  no  more.  When 
the  fellow  asked  for  his  bill  he  was  made  to  pay  a clol- 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


117 


lar,  when  Mr.  Pomposity  opened  his  eyes  in  astonish- 
ment. Col.  Johnson  advised  him  to  be  more  modest 
in  future  when  he  went  among  strangers. 

It  was  difficult  to  keep  good  fences  around  his  large 
fields  of  poor  land.  He  comforted  himself  for  the 
many  inconveniences  which  he  suffered  from  bad  in- 
closures, by  the  advantages  he  enjoyed  in  the  great 
number  of  rabbits  which  he  caught  by  the  rails  sink- 
ing down  so  close  to  each  other,  that  they  could  not 
slip  through  and  escape  from  the  dogs.  When  he  dis- 
covered a hog  in  a cornfield,  he  found  the  place  of  en- 
try, and  stopped  it  so  that  the  hog  could  not  get  out, 
and  show  the  whole  stock  the  way  in.  Every  traveller 
called  at  his  house  who  chose,  and  partook  of  his  wife’s 
good  fare  without  charge,  if  found  worthy  of  hospi- 
tality. A peddling  merchant  once  stopped,  sold 
many  of  his  tin  things,  and  finding  plentiful  food  for 
his  horses,  and  good  eating  for  himself,  staid  during 
the  remainder  of  the  day,  and  all  night.  Col.  Johnson 
saw  him  go  to  his  wagon  after  dining  with  his  family, 
and  eat  apples,  wdiich  were  at  the  time  a great  rarity, 
without  giving  his  children  any.  He  made  him  pay 
twenty  times  the  value  of  his  apples  for  what  he  would 
otherwise  have  had  for  nothing. 

Whenever  a monkey  or  other  show  passed  by  his 
house,  he  sent  into  his  fields  for  his  negroes  and  treated 
them  to  the  exhibition.  His  oldest  children  were 
daughters.  He  was  so  pleased  when  his  first  son  was 
born  that  he  planted  in  the  fence  corners  of  his  exten- 
sive fields,  a hundred  thousand  walnuts.  According  to 
his  count,  by  the  time  the  infant  arrived  at  manhood, 
each  of  the  walnuts  would  be  grown  into  a tree,  and 
be  worth  a dollar,  which  would  make  a fortune  for 
him  worth  talking  about. 


118 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


Col.  Johnson’s  plantation  and  Col.  Mathews’s  rich 
Goosepond  tract  adjoined.  He  was  riding  along  the 
public  road,  Avhich  passed  through  both,  when  he  fell 
in  with  a traveller,  who,  after  inquiring  the  names  of 
the  owners  of  the  two  places,  said  that  he  had  heard 
that  Col.  Mathews  was  very  rich,  and  that  Col.  John- 
son was  richer ; that  he  owned  five  hundred  sheep, 
Now  he  would  say,  see  what  a man  of  genius  can  do 
with  small  means.  But  little  supplies  our  wants.  We 
work  for  reputation.  I,  who  do  not  own  the  fourth 
part  of  the  wealth  of  Col.  Mathews,  have  the  credit  of 
being  the  richest  of  the  two.  Men  judge  by  com- 
parison. If  a man  worth  fifty  thousand  dollars  usually 
keeps  fifty  sheep,  how  much  must  he  be  worth  who 
keeps  ten  times  that  number  ? 

He  used  to  shirtee  his  fields  along  the  public  road 
with  cow-pens,  so  as  to  make  the  corn  which  was  seen 
in  passing  by  exhibit  a very  luxuriant  appearance,  and 
so  create  the  opinion  in  the  lookers-on  that  his  land 
was  very  productive.  His  orders  to  the  cowboys  were, 
that  the  cattle  must  never  leave  the  pen  in  the  morning 
until  they  had  added  to  its  fertility.  A neighbor  pass- 
ing by  found  a boy  running  a cow,  and  crying  as  if  his 
heart  would  break.  Being  a very  kind  man,  he  stopped 
to  inquire  what  was  the  matter,  and  received  for  an- 
swer that  Brownee  would  not  do  what  master  ordered. 

When  a daughter  married,  he  gave  to  her  husband 
five  hundred  dollars,  in  addition  to  what  he  would 
otherwise  have  given,  if  he  removed  to  a new  country, 
where  fertile  lands  were  to  be  had ; saying,  that  it 
would  mortify  him  to  see  his  children  laboring  hard  for  a 
pittance,  or  coming  about  the  old  people  to  carry  home 
on  Sunday  evenings  a wallet  of  little  family  necessities. 

Col.  Charles  Mathews,  Col.  Johnson’s  friend  and 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


119 


neighbor,  was  very  ambitious  of  being  a member  of 
the  Legislature,  offered  several  times,  and  was  not 
elected.  Col.  Johnson  accounted  for  his  want  of  suc- 
cess, by  saying  that  Col.  Mathews  on  public  days  rode 
his  big  horse  to  the  court-house,  stood  stiff  in  his  stir- 
rups, alighted  at  the  tavern,  and  ordered  with  authority 
his  horse  to  be  taken,  seated  himself  in  the  parlor, 
talked  sensibly  upon  public  affairs  with  the  select  few, 
instead  of  calling  upon  Mrs.  Crossroads  Smith,  inquiring 
about  the  price  of  eggs  and  chickens,  taking  a drink  of 
cider,  and  kissing  the  children. 

Col.  Johnson  was  a man  of  truth,  in  the  liberal  sense 
of  the  word.  He  never  invented  any  thing,  nor  in- 
tended to  deceive.  But  his  fertile  imagination  and 
strong  excitable  temperament,  led  him  constantly  to 
exaggerations  in  his  descriptions  of  things  that  were 
in  any  way  remarkable. 

Returning  home  from  his  harvest  held  one  day,  he 
found  a partridge  nest  very  full  of  eggs.  Upon  meet- 
ing his  wife,  he  told  her  that  he  had  found  a partridge 
nest  with  a bushel  of  eggs  in  it.  His  wife,  who  saw 
things  very  clearly  and  as  they  were,  exclaimed,  It  is 
not  possible,  husband,  for  a partridge  nest  to  hold  a 
bushel  of  eggs.  Pshaw,  wife,  I only  intended  to  give 
you  an  idea. 

He  was  for  a long  time  addicted  to  strong  drink, 
was  often  drunk,  and  was  always  very  violent  when  he 
was.  On  one  occasion  he  alarmed  his  family  by  some 
threatened  violence.  His  wife  sent  for  the  overseer 
and  negroes,  and  directed  them  to  confine  him.  Upon 
their  coming  into  the  room  where  he  was,  he  put  on 
an  air  of  sorrow  and  submission,  telling  his  negroes,  in 
a plaintive  voice,  that  he  supposed  that  they  had  come 
to  tie  their  master,  who  had  always  been  very  kind  to 


120 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


them.  He  continued  to  address  them  in  the  sweetest 
and  most  insinuating  way,  until,  finding  them  worked 
up  to  his  purpose,  lie  suddenly  stamped  his  foot,  and 
cried  out,  “ The  rascal  shall  die  who  attempts  to  tie 
me  ! ” ordered  the  negroes  to  seize  the  overseer,  and 
made  at  him  himself.  His  house  stood  on  the  brow  of 
a hill.  There  was  a long,  wide  passage  through  it, 
inclosed  on  one  side  by  a high  railing,  to  prevent  the 
children  from  breaking  their  necks  by  falling  over. 
The  overseer,  comprehending  fully  his  danger,  leaped 
over  the  railing.  He  was  without  coat  or  waistcoat. 
As  he  descended,  Col.  Johnson  grabbed  his  shirt  at 
the  back  of  his  neck,  the  collar  flew  open,  the  overseer 
threw  up  his  arms  and  slipped  through.  He  darted, 
shirtless,  for  Col.  Mathews’s.  Col.  Johnson  raised  his 
highest  halloo,  and  ordered  the  negroes  to  catch  him. 
The  whole  posse  of  thirty  or  forty  gave  chase.  It  was 
a run  for  life.  The  foremost  negro  was  about  to  seize 
hold  of  the  over-seer’s  breeches,  when,  breathless  and 
exhausted,  he  stood  before  Mrs.  Mathews,  and  implored 
her  protection.  In  another  drunken  spree,  Col.  John- 
son threw  one  of  his  daughters  on  the  floor,  and  made 
such  a plausible  feint  that  he  intended  to  take  her  life, 
by  sticking  his  knife  into  the  floor  near  her  head,  that 
his  wife  interfered  to  save  her  child.  He  immediately 
let  go  his  daughter,  and  attempted  to  seize  his  wife. 
She  fled  from  the  house  to  Broad  River,  about  half  a 
mile  distant.  Whilst  seated  over  the  water,  consider- 
ing the  question  whether  it  were  better  to  be  or  not 
to  be,  she  was  suddenly  precipitated  into  the  river,  and 
turning  her  head,  saw  that  her  husband’s  hand  had 
done  the  deed.  As  soon  as  he  perceived  that  his 
wife’s  life  was  in  imminent  peril,  his  whole  nature 
underwent  a sudden  revulsion.  He  was  sober  in  a 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


121 


moment.  Unable  to  swim,  to  have  jumped  into  tlie 
water  would  have  been  certain  destruction  to  both. 
He  looked  around  with  the  quickness  of  thought  for 
means  to  save  her.  He  found  nothing  at  hand  but  a 
long  weed.  Extending  it  at  once  towards  her,  he  spoke 
gently,  and  begged  her  to  take  hold.  The  voice  of 
love  never  fails  to  find  a vibrating  chord  in  woman’s 
heart.  Her  clothes  had  held  her  up  for  a moment. 
She  saw  the  change  in  her  husband’s  feelings,  and  did 
as  she  was  implored  to  do.  He  drew  her  slowly  to 
him,  reached  down,  pulled  her  into  his  arms,  carried 
her  upon  the  bank,  set  her  down,  threw  himself  on  his 
knees  before  her,  and  called  upon  God  witli  the  utmost 
solemnity  to  witness  his  promise  never  to  be  drunk 
again.  That  promise  was  never  violated. 

Mrs.  Johnson  inherited  her  father’s  wit  and  her 
mother’s  clear  understanding.  Though  she  read  but 
little,  and  her  intercourse  with  general  society  was 
limited,  her  conversation  was  very  agreeable  and  her 
knowledge  accurate.  She  and  her  husband  were  both 
great  talkers,  and  very  excitable.  Their  animated  con- 
troversies went  sometimes  beyond  what  was  pleasant 
to  listeners,  especially  when  Col.  Johnson  was  drinking. 

Mrs.  Johnson’s  table  was  the  most  profuse  of  home 
productions  of  any  ever  sat  down  to.  Two  hams  of 
bacon,  a large  piece  of  beef,  vast  dishes  of  fowls  and 
vegetables,  were  frequently  seen  at  a family  dinner. 
She  had  seven  houses  for  her  chickens.  A bushel  of 
corn  was  usually  strewed  around  the  yard  every  morn- 
ing. Col.  Johnson  kept  forty  cows,  five  hundred  sheep, 
and  countless  hogs,  to  supply  his  wife’s  table  with 
butter,  milk,  fat  beeves,  mutton,  pigs,  Ac.,  Ac. 

O.  H.  Prince  and  A.  G.  Clayton,  the  rival  wits  of 
the  Georgia  bar,  expressed  the  opinion,  in  a social 


122 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


assemblage  of  lawyers,  when  Scott’s  poetry  was  first 
spouted  by  every  body,  that  the  rhyme  was  but 
doggerel,  and  could  be  written  by  any  versifier.  The 
conversation  excited  interest,  and  the  assertion  of  the 
wits  opposition.  To  prove  the  correctness  of  their 
criticism,  Mr.  Prince  wrote  off  at  once  a string  of  lines 
ending  in  words  of  similar  sound,  to  which  Judge 
Clayton  added  a note  after  Scott’s  fashion.  The  subject 
was  Brownee  and  the  little  negro  cowboy.  The  rhyme 
and  note  appeared  soon  after  in  a paper  published  by 
Mr.  David  Hillhouse,  in  Columbia,  South  Carolina. 
Col.  Johnson,  when  he  heard  of  the  pasquinade,  only 
laughed,  when  he  understood  why  it  was  written.  Not 
so  Mrs.  Johnson.  She  asked  a kinsman,  who  was  a 
lawyer,  to  induce  Mr.  Prince  to  call  in  passing  by  to 
the  court,  that  she  might  teach  him  a lesson  on  good 
behavior. 

After  Mrs.  Johnson’s  death,  which  occurred  in 
1814-15,  Col.  Johnson  removed  with  his  unmarried 
children  to  Lauderdale  County,  Alabama,  where  he 
married  again.  When  all  his  children  left  him,  he 
indulged  in  love  for  dogs  and  cats,  keeping  about 
seventy  of  each. 

Nancy,  Col.  Johnson’s  oldest  daughter,  married 
Beuben  Jordan. 

Betsy,  his  second  daughter,  Louis  Bourbon  Tali- 
ferro. 

Martha,  George  Oglethorpe  Gilmer. 

Lucy,  John  Gilmer. 

Barbara,  Fraser. 

Bebekah,  Charles  Jordan. 

Sarah,  Morgan  Smith. 

Ilis  sons,  Frank  and  James,  died  young  and  un- 
married. 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA, 


J23 


Edward,  the  youngest,  was  a youth  of  fine  promise. 
Whilst  on  a visit  to  his  brother-in-law,  George  O.  Gil- 
mer, in  Montgomery,  Alabama,  he  joined  a party  who 
were  going  deer  hunting.  All  passed  through  a gate 
on  their  wray  to  the  forest ; Edward  wras  the  last.  The 
gate  was  heard  to  shut,  and  a gun  to  go  off.  Those 
who  were  before  looked  round,  and  saw  Edward  fall- 
ing from  his  horse.  He  was  dead  when  they  got  to 
him.  He  had  pushed  the  gate  to  its  place  with  the 
butt  end  of  his  gun.  It  had  gone  off,  and  its  load  into 
some  vital  part. 


WILLIAM  H.  CEAWFORD. 

William  H.  Crawford,  was  born  24th  of  Feb. 
1772,  in  Amherst,  a part  of  Virginia  unsurpassed  for 
good  water,  pure  atmosphere,  and  the  healthiness  and 
heartiness  of  its  inhabitants.  Spencer  off  that  county 
was  reputed  to  be  the  largest  man  in  the  world.  The 
nine  Martins  were  as  remarkable  for  height  as  Spencer 
was  for  weight.  The  Crawfords  were  both  stout  and 
tall.  William  H.  wms  six  feet  three  inches  high,  his 
brothers  Charles  and  Joel  about  as  tall,  and  Bennet, 
Robert  and  David,  but  little  lower.  The  elevated, 
rough,  productive  mountains  of  his  nativity  seemed  to 
have  impressed  their  characteristics  upon  his  constitu- 
tion. His  family  were  Scotch,  and  claimed  kindred 
with  the  lairds  of  that  name.  He  was  a lad  at  the 
close  of  the  revolutionary  war,  and  grew  up  with  the 
hardy  habits  of  those  scuffling  times.  He  carried  with 
him  to  his  highest  station  a little  of  the  rudeness  of 


124 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


his  mountain  raising.  Soon  after  peace  his  father 
removed  to  Columbia  County,  Georgia.  William  H. 
labored  on  the  plantation  with  his  brothers  until  Dr. 
Moses  Waddell  commenced  his  school  in  the  neighbor- 
hood. He  attended  it,  and  soon  learned  to  appreciate 
his  extraordinary  capacity.  He  had  arrived  at  man- 
hood before  his  education  extended  beyond  the  rudi- 
ments of  learning.  His  quick  apprehension  and  reten- 
tive memory  enabled  him  to  master  the  Latin  and 
Greek  languages  in  the  shortest  possible  time,  and  to 
comprehend  and  enjoy  with  peculiar  zest  the  beauties 
of  the  best  ancient  writers.  He  never  lost  his  relish 
for  Virgil,  Horace,  Cicero,  Xenophon  and  Homer. 
He  continued  to  attend  the  examinations  of  academies 
and  colleges,  to  enjoy  the  pleasure  of  renewed  ac- 
quaintance with  these  old  favorites.  And  yet  he  was 
above  the  vanity  of  display,  and  entirely  free  from 
pedantry.  His  father  lost  most  of  his  property  by 
some  singular  casualty  before  William  LI.  derived  any 
advantage  from  it.  He  knew  when  he  commenced 
life’s  struggle  that  his  success  would  be  unaided  by 
fortune,  and  made  his  exertions  correspond  with  his 
necessities.  As  soon  as  he  was  qualified,  he  accepted 
the  place  of  assistant  to  Charles,  afterwards  Judge 
Tait,  then  principal  of  the  Augusta  Academy,  a con- 
nection which  led  to  some  of  the  most  important  events 
of  his  future  career.  Whilst  engaged  in  teaching  and 
studying  law,  he  and  Miss  Gardine  became  attached  to 
each  other,  and  agreed  to  marry.  The  contract  was 
consummated  as  soon  afterwards  as  a competency  was 
provided  for  housekeeping,  which  was  so  long,  that 
one  less  honorable  and  steadfast  than  Mr.  Crawford 
might  have  forgotten  the  obligation,  unattended  as  it 
was  by  the  inducements  of  wealth  and  rank.  Mrs. 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


125 


Crawford  was  an  excellent  wife.  She  still  lives  to  keep 
fresh  in  the  memory  of  her  children  the  admirable 
qualities  of  their  fond  and  indulgent  father. 

Mr.  Crawford  was  in  1799  appointed,  in  conjunc- 
tion with  Id.  Marbury,  to  digest  the  laws  of  Georgia. 
He  settled  about  the  same  time  in  Lexington,  OMe- 
thorpe  County,  to  pursue  his  profession.  Whilst  he 
was  compiling  the  laws,  being  then  unmarried,  he 
passed  most  of  his  time  at  William  Barnett’s,  his  kins- 
man, who  lived  in  Elbert  County,  on  Broad  River, 
immediately  opposite  my  father’s  residence.  His 
plain  dress,  frank  manners  and  decided  straightfor- 
ward way  of  speaking  and  acting,  rendered  him  very 
acceptable  to  all  the  Broad  River  people.  My  father 
specially  admired  and  confided  in  him.  He  obtained 
his  promise  that  as  soon  as  I was  old  enough  he  would 
make  a lawyer  of  me.  When  I was  about  to  com- 
mence preparation  for  the  profession,  he  acknowledged 
the  obligation ; but  advised  me  to  go  into  Mr.  Upson’s 
office,  on  account  of  his  long  absence  from  home  attend- 
ing Congress. 

When  Mr.  Crawford  commenced  the  life  of  a 
lawyer,  many  of  the  profession  were  engaged  in  the 
land  speculations  which  at  the  time  disgraced  the  State. 
An  effort  was  made  to  induce  him  to  act  in  unison 
with  them.  His  refusal  brought  upon  him  the  united 
opposition  of  the  unprincipled  clique.  Finding  his 
talents  and  integrity  very  much  in  the  way  of  their 
success,  a conspiracy  was  entered  into  to  kill,  or  drive 
him  away.  Van  Allen,  an  impudent  fellow  from  Hew 
York,  a first  cousin  of  President  Van  Bureu,  was 
chosen  to  play  the  bully.  He  challenged  Mr.  Craw- 
ford and  was  killed.  Gen.  Clark,  who  having  fought 
with  fame  at  the  battle  of  Jack’s  Creek,  and  distin- 


126 


FIKST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


guished  himself  by  the  active  part  which  he  took  in 
the  brawls  common  in  those  days,  thought  his  efforts 
might  be  attended  with  better  success.  A challenge 
was  sent  to  Mr.  Crawford  and  accepted.  On  the  day 
of  the  meeting,  Clark  and  his  second  harassed  him 
with  quibbles  and  controversies  until  he  was  out  of 
temper,  and  off  his  guard.  When  he  took  his  position 
his  disengaged  arm  was  forgotten,  and  suffered  to 
hang  outside  of  his  body,  so  that  Gen.  Clark’s  ball 
struck  his  wrist,  which  would  otherwise  have  passed 
harmlessly  by.  Clark’s  hatred  was  increased,  instead  of 
being  appeased  by  his  accidental  success.  He  renew- 
ed his  challenge  without  any  renewed  offence,  and 
continued  as  long  as  he  lived  in  Georgia,  to  obstruct 
by  all  the  means  which  he  could  command,  the  way  of 
Mr.  Crawford’s  political  advancement. 

Mr.  Crawford  was  elected  a member  of  the  Legis- 
lature by  the  people  of  Oglethorpe,  for  several  succes- 
sive years.  His  vigorous  intellect  and  active  industry 
entitled  him  to  the  first  place  among  the  members,  a 
position  which  he  was  not  slow  in  assuming. 

He  was  elected  to  the  United  States  Senate  in 
1807,  and  was  soon  considered  one  of  the  great  men  of 
that  most  select  of  the  legislative  bodies  of  the  world. 
He  had  the  confidence  of  Mr.  Jefferson,  and  was  one 
of  Mr.  Madison’s  most  influential  advisers.  He  show- 
ed his  fearlessness  in  the  discharge  of  public  duty,  by 
attacking  Mr.  Madison’s  Delphic-like  recommendations, 
when  decisive  measures  were  required  by  the  state  of 
the  country.  He  was  rewarded  for  his  independence 
by  being  sent  Minister  to  France.  His  tall  command- 
ing person  figured  conspicuously  among  the  diminutive 
Frenchmen,  whilst  his  noble  features  and  gallant  tem- 
per rendered  him  a great  favorite  in  Parisian  society. 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


127 


When  lie  returned  home,  polished  by  intimate  associa- 
tion with  the  highest  class  of  the  politest  nation,  his 
appearance  and  manners  made  him  the  most  imposing 
gentleman  who  had  ever  been  seen  in  Georgia.  He 
indeed  surpassed  in  personal  appearance  Mr.  Clay,  Mr. 
Calhoun,  Mr.  Lowndes,  and  General  Jackson,  his  rivals 
for  the  Presidency,  though  each  one  of  them  would 
have  attracted  attention  among  a million. 

I was  a member  of  Congress,  whilst  Mr.  Crawford 
was  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  and  had  frequent  oppor- 
tunities of  observing  his  singular  capacity  for  business  ; 
his  contempt  for  pretences ; his  excellent  memory,  and 
the  sagacity  which  enabled  him  to  bring  into  the  service 
of  his  department  the  best  assistants  which  could  be 
had  for  the  performance  of  what  was  to  be  done. 
Rascals  received  no  countenance  from  him.  He  em- 
ployed none  knowingly,  and  when  he  was  deceived,  he 
told  them  so,  and  dismissed  them. 

The  improper  use  of  lobelia  by  Mr.  Crawford  for 
an  attack  of  erysipelas  through  the  advice  of  an  un- 
skilful physician,  whilst  he  was  temporarily  absent 
from  Washington  City,  brought  on  paralysis,  from 
which  he  never  entirely  recovered.  The  electioneer- 
ing for  the  Presidency  was  then  goiug  on  very  active- 
ly. He  was  never  sensible  of  the  injurious  effects  of 
the  disease  upon  his  mind,  and  refused  to  withdraw 
from  the  canvass.  The  ambitious  men  of  his  party 
had  committed  themselves  to  his  support,  and  opposi- 
tion to  his  rivals,  before  his  enfeebled  condition  was 
known,  so  that  their  hopes  of  distinction  through  the 
favor  of  the  President,  rested  upon  him.  There  was 
no  getting  at  the  true  state  of  his  case  during  the 
pendency  of  the  election.  His  chance  for  success  was 
considered  best  of  all  the  candidates,  until  the  votes 


128 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


which  determined  the  election  were  counted  out. 
Complaining  long  afterwards  to  Mr.  Crawford’s  most 
intimate  friend,  who  was  one  of  the  ablest  and  most 
honorable  citizens  of  our  country,  of  this  concealment  of 
Mr.  Crawford’s  condition  from  the  country,  he  replied, 
that  such  was  his  confidence  in  the  integrity  of  Mr. 
Crawford,  and  his  thorough  knowledge  of  men  and 
measures  that  he  believed  he  would,  though  paralyzed, 
have  made  a better  President  than  either  of  his 
rivals. 

Mr.  Crawford  quitted  office  in  1825,  poorer  than 
when  he  went  Minister  to  France.  He  had  no  love 
of  money  for  its  own  sake.  When  his  children  grew 
up,  married,  and  stood  in  need  of  more  property  than 
he  could  give  them,  he  would  sometimes  exjiress  re- 
gret that  he  had  not  followed  his  profession  and 
acquired  wealth,  as  Mr.  Cobb  and  Mr.  Upson  had 
done,  Avho  succeeded  to  his  practice. 

He  was  appointed  Judge  of  the  Superior  Court  by 
Governor  Troup,  in  1827,  to  fill  the  vacancy  occasioned 
by  the  death  of  Judge  Dooly,  and  was  elected  to  the 
same  office  by  the  Legislature,  in  1828.  He  made 
a better  judge  than  seemed  to  be  possible  to  those  who 
were  familiar  with  his  paralyzed  state.  His  clear  and 
conscientious  sense  of  right,  and  extraordinary  recollec- 
tion of  wffiat  he  had  known  in  early  life,  kept  him  in 
the  straight  course. 

He  was  violently  opposed  to  the  nullification  move- 
ment, considering  it  but  an  ebullition  excited  by  Mr. 
Calhoun’s  overleaping  ambition. 

Every  one  drank  whiskey  whilst  Mr.  Crawford  was 
growing  up.  Elis  mind  and  body  were  but  little 
affected  by  this  habit  until  he  was  paralyzed.  Fie ' 
continued  to  use  the  accustomed  quantity,  often  lost 


FIEST  SETTLEBS  OF  UPPEE  GEOBGIA. 


129 


bis  self-control,  and  would  talk  of  the  rascality  of  the 
men  of  former  times  in  mixed  companies,  to  the  great 
annoyance  of  some,  and  amusement  of  others.  He 
retained  his  social  temper  and  admirable  conversational 
talents  to  the  end  of  his  life.  He  loved  to  tell  anec- 
dotes, and  told  them  well.  He  saw  the  knob,  and 
made  others  feel  it.  He  was  a capital  laugher,  and 
cared  not  a fig,  when  at  his  greatest  elevation,  for 
artificial  dignity.  He  was  as  affectionate  to  his  chil- 
dren as  a father  could  be,  loving  them  heartily,  and 
learning  them  to  treat  him  familiarly  and  confidingly. 
To  his  children,  friends,  and  neighbors,  he  was  what 
they  liked  best  and  admired  most.  With  but  limited 
learning  and  unpolished  manners,  he  was  found  upon 
trial  equal  to  any  demands  which  his  country  could 
make  upon  him.  He  retained  through  life  his  love  for 
his  Broad  River  friends.  He  died  among  them,  at  the 
house  of  Mr.  Valentine  Meriwether,  on  his  way  to 
Elbert  Court,  of  a disease  of  the  heart. 

Joel  Crawford  was  tall  and  stout,  like  his  distin- 
guished brother,  William  H.  The  resemblance  extend- 
ed no  further.  He  married  his  first  cousin,  Haney,  the 
daughter  of  old  Nat.  Barnett.  The  only  public  office 
which  Joel  Crawford  ever  held,  was  tobacco-inspector 
for  the  little  towu  of  Petersburg.  His  wife,  never 
having  associated  with  society  before  her  marriage, 
when  she  went  into  company  afterwards  was  as  restless 
as  if  she  was  on  thorns.  They  had  only  one  child,  a 
daughter,  who  married  a man  by  the  name  of  Mc- 
Daniel. 

Joel  Crawford  lived  in  a small  hewed  log-house, 
near  Falling  Creek,  about  two  miles  north  of  Broad 
River,  in  Elbert  County,  and  near  his  brother-in-law, 
William  Barnett. 

9 


130 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


THE  BARNETTS. 

Nat.  Barnett  must  have  been  of  English  descent, 
being  brave,  obstinate,  and  perverse,  without  the  cal- 
culating temper  of  the  Scotch,  or  wit  of  the  Irish.  He 
was  a native  of  Amherst  County,  Virginia.  He  mar- 
ried Miss  Crawford,  a neighbor’s  daughter,  and  aunt  of 
William  H.  Crawford.  The  match  was  very  suitable 
in  many  respects.  Both  were  perfectly  content  with 
their  clothes  if  they  covered  their  nakedness,  and  their 
house  if  it  sheltered  them  from  the  weather.  Fancy 
was  not  a quality  of  their  natures,  and  mental  taste  not 
known  to  them  at  all.  And  yet  they  were  not  al- 
together alike.  Nat.  was  active  and  supple  of  body, 
and  not  very  strong  of  understanding ; his  wife  was 
firm  and  sensible.  Nat.  accompanied  his  relations,  the 
Crawfords,  in  their  removal  from  Amherst  County, 
Virginia,  to  Columbia  County,  Georgia,  about  the 
beginning  of  the  revolutionary  war.  The  British 
troops,  and  their  friends  the  Tories,  drove,  by  their 
murderous  warfare,  most  of  the  Whigs  from  upper 
Georgia.  Nat.,  his  two  sons,  William  and  Joel,  and 
two  of  the  young  Crawfords,  their  kinsmen,  determined 
to  remain  and  war  to  the  knife  ivith  them.  Nat.  was 
made  prisoner,  and  confined  in  Augusta  jail.  When 
the  Whigs,  under  Clark,  attacked  Augusta,  and  drove 
out  the  Tories,  Nat.  was  liberated.  Having  been 
whilst  confined  in  constant  expectation  of  being  put  to 
death,  when  he  felt  himself  free  he  leaped  into  the  air, 
struck  his  feet  three  times  together,  threw  his  wool-hat 
aloft,  and  cried  out  at  the  top  of  his  voice,  “ Liberty  for 
ever  ! liberty  for  ever  ! liberty  for  ever  ! ” Ac. 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


131 


William  and  Joel  Barnett,  and  the  two  Crawfords, 
to  avoid  beina;  burnt  in  the  houses  of  their  fathers,  or 
captured  and  hung,  took  possession  of  a thicket  of 
cedars,  which  grew  near  the  centre  of  a great  extent  of 
otherwise  bare  rocks,  some  miles  above  Augusta. 
From  this  place  they  could  see  the  approach  of  ene- 
mies, prepare  for  flight  or  fight,  and  choose  the  most 
favorable  times  for  breaking  up  lodgments  of  the 
Tories. 

Joel  Barnett,  the  youngest  of  the  four,  especially 
distinguished  himself  by  his  daring  adventures.  He 
once  crossed  Savannah  River,  into  Edgefield  district, 
South  Carolina,  where  the  Tories  had  the  upper  hand 
at  the  time,  and  burnt  the  tippling-house  in  which  they 
were  accustomed  to  assemble  before  going  forth  to 
plunder  and  murder.  He  was  tarrying  to  see  the  fire 
under  way,  when  he  heard  a party  of  Tories  making 
for  the  place  in  the  greatest  haste.  He  mounted  his 
horse  and  fled.  There  was  no  fort  nor  friends  near 
to  give  him  protection.  The  British  and  their  allies 
were  in  possession  of  Augusta,  the  only  place  where  a 
boat  could  be  had  for  crossing  the  Savannah  River. 
It  was  a run  for  life  on  the  part  of  Barnett.  With 
might  and  main  the  pursuers  and  the  pursued  urged  on 
their  horses.  When  Barnett  reached  the  river  he 
plunged  in.  Lying  on  the  water,  he  struck  manfully 
into  it  with  eager  love  of  life.  He  had  got  just  beyond 
gunshot  when  the  Tories  arrived  at  the  bank.  They 
vented  their  rage  by  firing  their  guns  at  him. 

Joel  Barnett’s  health  gave  way  from  constant 
exposure.  Reduced  to  feebleness  by  fever  and  ague, 
he  sought  relief  by  taking  shelter  in  the  cabin  of  a poor 
Whig  woman  near  by,  who,  in  accordance  with  the 
spirit  of  her  sex,  loved  her  country  and  her  countrymen 


132 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


who  fought  to  defend  it.  One  morning,  whilst  Joel 
Barnett  was  at  breakfast  with  his  hostess,  he  saw, 
through  the  opening  between  the  logs  of  her  cabin,  a 
party  of  Tories  rapidly  approaching.  Having  no 
ability  or  means  to  fly,  he  passed  out  of  the  cabin  on 
the  opposite  side,  climbed  over  a fence  which  inclosed 
a little  field  near  by,  and  dropped  into  some  weeds  and 
grass,  which  his  quick  eye  saw  would  conceal  him.  He 
heard  the  curses  of  his  enemies,  and  their  threats  of 
vengeance  upon  the  woman,  when  they  found  that  he 
had  escaped,  and  their  whoops  of  encouragement  to  each 
other,  as  they  parted  to  meet  on  the  opposite  side  of 
the  little  field.  As  soon  as  they  were  out  of  sight,  go- 
ing on  in  the  direction  which  they  supposed  he  had 
fled,  Barnett  eased  his  held-in  breath,  reclimbed  the 
fence,  passed  through  the  cabin,  shook  the  hand  of  the 
kind  woman,  and  was  off  in  the  opposite  direction. 

The  two  Barnetts  and  two  Crawfords,  after  a while, 
were  obliged  to  leave  Georgia.  The  two  Barnetts 
went  to  Virginia,  where  the  Marquis  La  Fayette  and 
Cornwallis  were  exercising  their  military  skill  in  efforts 
to  get  the  advantage  of  each  other.  They  joined  the 
militia  company  from  Amherst  County,  were  in  the 
conquering  American  army  at  the  siege  of  York,  saw 
the  British  commander-in-chief  yield  his  sword  to  an 
inferior  American  officer,  and  joined  in  the  general 
exultation  of  their  countrymen,  when  they  knew  that 
the  struggle  for  freedom  had  ended  successfully. 

Joel  Barnett  returned  to  Georgia  soon  after,  and 
married  his  first  cousin,  Miss  Crawford.  After  her 
death  he  married  Mildred  Meriwether,  the  daughter 
of  Mr.  Frank  Meriwether,  and  settled  in  Oglethorpe 
County,  a little  off  from  Broad  River.  Joel  Barnett 
was  firm  to  obstinacy.  He  never  did  favors  for  the 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OP  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


133 


sake  of  gaining  favors,  nor  palavered  any  body.  He 
did  not  talk  mucb.  Whatever  lie  said  lie  believed  to 
be  strictly  true.  He  joined  the  Baptist  Churcli  upon 
his  conscience  becoming  impressed  with  the  force  of 
religious  truths ; but  found  it  impossible  to  conform 
himself  to  its  rules,  and  withdrew,  or  was  turned  out. 
He  was  upright,  and  retained  the  confidence  of  the 
people  of  Oglethorpe  County  as  long  as  lie  lived  among 
them.  He  represented  them  frequently  in  the  Legis- 
lature. He  was  industrious  and  economical.  He  re- 
moved to  the  State  of  Mississippi,  where  be  died  some 
years  after,  worth  $200,000.  He  had  one  child  by 
bis  first  wife  and  eight  by  bis  last. 

Joel  was  like  the  children  of  poor  cousins  are  apt 
to  be. 

Susan  married  John  Gresham ; secondly,  John  Gil- 
mer. 

Charles  married  Eliza  Gresham. 

Frank  married  Susan  Ponder. 

Nathaniel  married  Eliza  Goolsby. 

Mary  married  William  H.  Smith. 

married Crawford. 

Emily  married  Craven  W.  Totten  ; secondly, 

Stewart. 

Ann  married ■ Burke. 

Rebekah  married  Michael  Johnson. 

William  Barnett  married  Mary  Meriwether,  the 
daughter  of  Mr.  Frank  Meriwether.  He  lived  for  a 
short  time  in  Columbia  County,  and  then  settled  on 
Broad  River,  in  Elbert  County.  He  was  kind,  plausi- 
ble, and  agreeable.  Though  his  education  and  read- 
ing were  very  limited,  his  observation  was  close,  and 
perceptions  clear.  New  settlements  are  necessarily 
very  sickly  in  warm  climates.  William  Barnett’s 


134 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


kind  disposition,  and  singular  capacity  for  profiting 
by  experience  and  observation,  made  him  a good  phy- 
sician. His  skill  was  exerted  freely  for  the  benefit  of 
those  who  could  not  procure  a doctor,  or  were  without 
the  means  to  employ  one.  He  became  the  most  popu- 
lar man  of  his  county.  The  first  ofiice  which  he  held 
was  the  sheriffalty.  His  efficiency  was  soon  put  to  a 
very  severe  trial. 

Beverly  Allen  carried  on  the  business  of  merchan- 
dise in  the  County  of  Elbert  in  1794-5.  His  store- 
house and  residence  was  on  the  hill  rising  from  Beaver- 
dam  Creek,  on  the  side  of  the  road  leading  from  the 
Fishdam  ford  on  Broad  River  to  the  Cherokee  'ford  on 
the  Savannah.  He  was  young  and  handsome,  with  a 
fine  voice,  and  ardent  temperament.  He  came  to 
Georgia  an  enthusiastic  Methodist  preacher.  Without 
any  of  the  learning  of  Whitfield,  he  had  much  of  his 
inspiring  elocpience.  Episcopalianism  had  passed  away 
from  the  country  with  the  loss  of  titles.  It  was  long 
before  its  place  was  supplied  by  the  faith  of  the  Bap- 
tist and  the  devotion  of  the  Methodist.  Preaching 
was  a rarity  when  Beverly  Allen  settled  in  Georgia. 
Men’s  souls  were  stirred  within  them  when  they 
heard  vivid  descriptions  of  the  punishment  in  the 
lower  world  for  sin,  and  the  happiness  in  heaven  of 
those  who  died  in  the  faith,  and  left  their  good  works 
to  follow  them.  When  Beverly  Allen  held  forth  upon 
these  subjects,  the  whole  population  crowded  together 
to  hear  him.  Some  time  during  the  year  1795,  he 
went  to  Augusta  to  buy  goods  with  the  money  which 
he  had,  and  the  credit  which  he  could  obtain.  Whilst 
there,  the  foreign  merchant,  of  whom  he  had  purchased 
his  first  stock,  found  him  buying  goods  of  others,  in- 
stead of  discharging  the  debt  due  to  himself.  He 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


135 


caused  a ca.  sa.  writ  to  be  issued  for  Allen’s  arrest,  re- 
turnable to  the  United  States  District  Court.  Being 
informed  of  his  liability  to  arrest,  he  armed  himself,  took 
possession  of  a room  in  a public  house,  and  fastened  the 
door.  The  marshal,  who  was  the  father  of  the  cele- 
brated John  Forsyth,  pursued  him,  broke  open  the 
door,  and  was,  upon  his  entrance,  shot  dead.  Allen 
was  arrested  upon  a charge  of  murder,  escaped,  and 
fled  to  his  home  in  Elbert.  William  Barnett,  upon 
receiving  the  warrant,  assembled  a guard  and  went  in 
search  of  him.  He  ascertained  that  Allen  was  con- 
cealed in  his  house.  After  many  fruitless  attempts  to 
get  him  out,  the  house  was  set  on  fire  and  kept  burn- 
ing until  he  delivered  himself  up.  He  was  confined  in 
the  jail  of  the  county.  The  news  spread  among  the 
people  with  electric  quickness,  that  their  favorite 
preacher  was  in  jail  for  resisting  the  process  of  the 
United  States  Court,  the  object  of  which  had  been  to 
take  from  him  his  liberty,  and  separate  him  from  his 
home,  friends,  and  flock.  The  process  of  the  Circuit 
Court  of  the  United  States  was  then  very  unpopular 
on  account  of  the  violent  political  contest  between  the 
democrats  and  federalists,  in  which  the  power  of  the 
United  States  Courts  made  one  of  the  subjects  of  party 
disagreement.  In  those  days  the  people  were  a law 
unto  themselves.  The  restraints  of  government  had 
been  very  slight  during  the  dominion  of  Great  Britain. 
They  were  scarcely  felt  at  all  on  the  frontiers  of  Geor- 
gia at  the  time  of  the  arrest  of  Allen.  Voluntary  as- 
sociations, called  Lynch  men,  afforded  some  protection 
against  thieves.  Personal  rights  were  defended  by  the 
first.  Liberty,  and  especially  liberty  of  person,  was, 
from  the  habits  of  speaking,  acting,  and  feeling  of  the 
times  of  the  revolution  and  immediately  after,  consid- 


13B  MUST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 

ered  by  many  the  chief  good.  In  such  times,  among 
such  people,  operated  upon  by  such  causes,  it  was  not 
wonderful  that  the  imprisonment  of  Allen  produced 
popular  commotion.  The  sheriff,  finding  that  the  res- 
cue of  his  prisoner  would  be  attempted,  set  off  with 
him  for  Washington,  Wilks  County.  He  was  headed 
on  the  road  and  compelled  to  return.  He  increased 
his  guard  to  sixteen  men.  One  or  more  of  them 
proved  to  be  friends  of  the  prisoner.  On  the  night 
after  William  Barnett’s  return  from  this  attempt  to 
secure  the  criminal  in  Wilks  jail,  the  jail  of  Elbert  was 
attacked  by  two  hundred  men,  the  doors  forced  open, 
and  Allen  permitted  to  escape.  The  friends  of  the 
prisoner  had,  previous  to  the  attack,  taken  the  powder 
from  the  locks  of  the  guns  of  all  the  guard  from  whom 
any  danger  was  apprehended,  except  one.  He  was 
held  so  that  he  could  not  fire.  Beverly  Allen  fled  to 
the  most  distant  western  frontier  of  the  United  States. 

William  Barnett  was  a member  of  the  Legislature 
for  a long  time,  and  for  several  years  President  of  the 
Senate.  He  and  Mr.  Forsyth  were  candidates  for 
Congress,  each  for  the  first  time,  to  fill  a vacancy. 
Wm  Barnett’s  popularity  was  proven  by  his  success 
over  the  most  talented  man  of  the  time.  He  con- 
tinued a member  of  Congress  for  some  years.  He 
received  many  other  proofs  of  his  countrymen’s  con- 
fidence. He  and  his  first  wife  were  devoted  to  each 
other.  They  had  a large  family  of  children.  Mrs. 
Barnett’s  love  was  subjected  to  a test  which  proved  too 
much  for  her  capability  of  endurance.  He  was  so 
dangerously  ill  of  fever  that  his  life  was  despaired  of. 
His  wife  became  frantic,  and  died.  He  recovered,  and 
years  after  married  Mrs.  Bibb,  the  mother  of  Dr.  Wil- 
liam W.  Bibb.  Though  Mrs.  Barnett  was  very  sensible 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


137 


and  agreeable,  it  was  not  possible  for  lier  to  make  her- 
self acceptable  to  a man  who  had  lived  most  lovingly 
from  his  youth  to  advanced  age  with  a wife  who  was 
altogether  devoted  to  him,  and  had  died  for  love  of 
him.  Each  of  them  had  children,  most  of  whom  were 
married.  They  had  no  common  property.  They 
began  to  separate  in  visiting  their  children,  until  they 
finally  ceased  to  live  together.  He  removed  to  Ala- 
bama, and  died  shortly  after.  He  had  six  children  by 
his  first  wife ; none  by  his  last. 

Thomas  Meriwether  Barnett,  the  oldest  child  of 
William  Barnett,  inherited  his  mother’s  temper.  He 
was  instinctively  industrious,  frugal,  truthful,  and 
honest.  He  had  none  of  the  plausibility  nor  agreea- 
bleness of  his  father.  He  never  electioneered,  pa- 
lavered, nor  asked  favors  of  any  body,  sought  for  nor 
held  any  office.  He  had  no  time  to  spare  from  his 
home  employments  to  listen  to  the  idle  chat  of  others, 
and  never  took  time  to  talk  himself.  For  many  years 
after  he  was  a man  he  attended  to  both  his  father’s 
plantation  and  his  own,  though  they  were  several  miles 
apart,  walking  daily  from  one  to  the  other,  and  over 
each.  He  seldom  visited ; never  sung,  danced,  nor 
attended  frolics  of  any  sort.  He  showed,  when  he  was 
dressed  in  his  best,  that  he  did  not  expect  to  please  by 
the  cut  of  his  coat  nor  the  tie  of  his  cravat.  How  he 
got  married  no  one  knows,  except  his  wife.  He  had 
lived  to  be  a bachelor  of  some  standing,  and  never 
courted  even  a cousin,  when  a lady,  who  was  herself 
considerably  beyond  her  teens,  became  a frequent 
visitor  at  her  sister’s,  who  lived  near  by  Tom  Barnett’s. 
She  was  social,  and  often  very  much  in  want  of  com- 
pany. Some  accident  brought  the  maiden  and  bachelor 
together.  The  backwardness  of  the  unpolished  bachelor 


138 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


was  overcome  by  the  free  and  easy  manners  of  the  low 
country  Virginia  lady.  Where  there  is  a will  there  is 
a way.  They  married.  Providing  for  children  in- 
creased the  motives  which  had  made  Tom  Barnett 
exceedingly  industrious  and  frugal.  Though  he  never 
bartered  nor  trafficked  he  had  clear  perceptions  of  the 
value  of  money,  and  understood  very  well  the  best 
means  of  making  it.  He  left  his  post  oak,  black-jack 
lands,  near  Broad  River,  in  Elbert  County,  for  the  rich 
prairie  lands  of  Montgomery,  Alabama.  He  has  gone 
on,  working  continually,  and  adding  to  his  property, 
until  he  is  now  one  of  the  wealthiest  planters  of  the 
Southern  States,  probably  the  very  richest  whose 
patrimony  was  only  five  negroes  and  a tract  of  land 
of  a few  hundred  acres  of  common  quality.  He  is  the 
owner  of  upwards  of  sixty  thousand  acres  of  rich  land, 
many  negroes,  and  much  other  valuable  property.  He 
is  near  seventy  years  old,  and  is  as  industrious,  frugal, 
honest,  truthful,  shabby  in  dress,  and  abstemious  in 
talk,  as  he  was  in  early  life. 

Martha,  the  next  oldest  of  the  living  children  of 
Wm.  Barnett,  married  Francis  M.  Gilmer,  originally 
of  Broad  River,  now  of  Montgomery,  Alabama.  Her 
industry,  smartness,  and  economy,  has  made  her  hus- 
band rich. 

Mary,  the  second  daughter,  married  David  Talia- 
ferro, son  of  Col.  Ben.  Taliaferro.  She  was  left  a 
widow,  with  several  young  children.  She  has  proved 
herself  a match  for  any  man  in  the  management  of 
property,  and,  iudeed,  superior  to  most  in  most  other 
matters. 

Nat.,  the  second  son,  married  Miss  Hudson,  and 
moved  to  the  far  Southwest. 

Lucy,  the  third  daughter,  married  George  Mathews, 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


139 


grandson  of  Gov.  Mathews.  She  was  a clever  woman, 
and  her  husband  one  of  the  best  of  all  the  Broad  River 
kin. 

, fourth  daughter,  married Ross. 

Peter  Barnett,  the  youngest  son  of  Old  Nat.,  never 
made  the  effort  or  failed  to  overcome  the  unrestrained 
rudeness  of  his  youth.  He  married  Miss  Saffold,  of 
Wilks  County,  whose  peculiarities  were  found  to  agree 
so  badly  with  his  own  that  he  left  her  to  live  among 
the  Creek  Indians  with  a squaw. 


THE  HARYIES  AND  ANDREWS. 

The  Harvies  were  the  most  numerous  family  of 
the  original  settlers  on  Broad  River.  They  were  of 
Scotch  descent.  Their  name  is  distinguished  from  the 
English  and  Irish  of  the  same  sound  by  its  being  spelled 
Harvie  instead  of  Harvey. 

John  Harvie,  their  last  European  ancestor,  was 
born  at  Gargunnock,  in  the  shire  of  Stirling,  North 
Britain.  He  removed  from  Scotland  to  Virginia,  and 
settled  in  Albemarle  County,  about  forty  years  before 
the  revolutionary  war.  His  wife’s  maiden  name  was 
Gaines,  a name  which  her  relative,  Edmund  Pendleton, 
has  rendered  quite  famous.  Her  husband  being  dead, 
she  accompanied  her  children  in  their  move  from  Vir- 
ginia to  Broad  River,  where  she  died  when  in  her 
eighty year. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Harvie  had  nine  children,  four,  sons 
and  five  daughters.  When  Mr.  Jefferson  was  in 

O 

France,  Ambassador  for  the  Confederation,  he  found 


140 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


the  opinion  prevalent  there  and  elsewhere  in  Europe, 
that  animal  nature  deteriorated  iu  America.  One  of 
his  purposes  in  writing  Notes  on  Virginia  was  to  cor- 
rect this  mistake.  Whilst  engaged  in  the  work,  he 
applied  to  Col.  John  Harvie  for  the  weight  of  himself, 
his  brothers,  and  sisters.  Col.  Harvie  so  indignantly 
refused  giving  him  the  information  asked  for,  that 
Mr.  Jefferson  made  no  reference  in  his  book  to  their 
great  weight.  The  nine  weighed  about  twenty-seven 
hundred  pounds ; the  four  brothers,  a little  less  than 
twelve  hundred,  and  the  five  sisters,  somewhat  more 
than  fifteen  hundred.  Daniel  Harvie  reached  near 
four  hundred,  and  exceeded  other  men  as  much  in 
strength  as  he  did  in  size.  It  was  said  that  he  righted 
the  corner  of  a mill-house,  which  had  been  put  out  of 
its  place  by  a freshet ; that  he  raised  a heavy  hogshead 
of  tobacco  over  the  ground-sill  through  the  door  of  the 
tobacco  house  ; and  that  he  could  hold  up  for  some 
time  two  men  of  ordinary  size,  one  on  each  hand,  with 
his  arms  extended  their  full  length  from  his  body. 
He  was  stronger  than  Francisco.  Indeed  he  had  the 
reputation,  among  his  acquaintances,  of  beiug  the 
strongest  man  in  the  world.  Daniel  Harvie’s  muscle 
was  better  fitted  for  the  exertion  of  strength  than 
conveying  the  materials  for  thought  to  the  brain. 
Fortunately  for  society,  Providence  usually  orders  that 
men  of  great  strength  shall  be  very  good-tempered. 
Daniel  Harvie  was  never  angry.  He  married  Sally 
Taliaferro,  of  Amherst  County,  Virginia,  sister  of 
Col.  Benjamin  Taliaferro,  whose  capital  good  sense 
supplied  what  her  husband  was  most  deficient  in. 
They  removed  to  Georgia  along  with  their  kin,  and 
settled  on  the  eastern  side  of  Fong  Creek,  two  miles 
from  Broad  Fiver.  Daniel  Harvie,  in  displaying  his 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


141 


great  strength  to  his  neighbors,  in  hauling  a drag  for 
fish  in  Long  Creek,  became  so  much  heated  by  oyer- 
exertion  that  he  took  cold  and  died.  Mrs.  Harvie  was 
left  a widow  in  the  prime  of  life,  with  five  children, 
four  daughters  and  a son.  She  devoted  herself  to 
them  in  the  spirit  of  self-sacrifice,  which  men  admire 
but  seldom  imitate.  Though  her  estate  was  small,  by 
great  industry  and  economy,  she  sent  them  to  the  best 
schools  in  the  country,  and,  when  they  arrived  at  the 
proper  age,  introduced  them  into  its  most  polished 
society. 

• Martha  Harvie,  Daniel  Harvie’s  oldest  daughter, 
was  very  pretty,  amiable,  and  clever.  She  married 
Dr.  T.  Thornton  Gilmer,  the  handsomest  of  all  the 
Broad  River  men. 

Daniel  Harvie’s  second  daughter,  Mary  Boutwell, 
married  Peachy  Ridgway  Gilmer. 

His  third  daughter,  Nancy,  married  Thomas  Lewis 
Gilmer. 

His  fourth,  Frances,  had  more  strength  of  intellect 
than  either  of  her  sisters.  She  married  in  Kentucky, 
whilst  on  a visit  at  Dr.  Gilmer’s,  a rough  specimen  of 
humanity  by  the  name  of  Bostwick,  and  never  after- 
wards lived  on  Broad  River. 

Daniel  Harvie’s  son  Daniel  inherited  some  of  the 
strength  and  much  of  the  kindness  and  good  temper 
of  his  father.  The  great  care  of  his  mother  could  not 
entirely  prevent  his  showing  the  disposition  to  impro- 
visation which  he  inherited  from  his  Italian  ancestors. 
He  removed  to  Mississippi,  where  he  died  a bachelor. 

William  Harvie  was  social,  kind-tempered,  well 
read,  and  conversable.  His  schemes  were  not  always 
very  practical,  but  were  sustained  with  never-failing 
plausibility.  His  federal  politics  excluded  him  from 


142 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OP  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


holding  office,  except  that  of  Justice  of  the  Inferior 
Court,  which,  having  no  pay  attached  to  it,  and  yet 
requiring  intelligence  and  integrity  for  the  proper 
discharge  of  its  duties,  was  filled  by  the  patriotic, 
whose  services  could  be  obtained  without  any  investi- 
gation about  their  opinions  of  Jay’s  treaty  or  the 
French  revolution.  He  married  Judith  Cosby,  the 
sister  of  the  celebrated  Judge  Cosby  of  Kentucky,  and 
of  James  Cosby  of  Elbert  County,  Georgia,  a gentle- 
man of  great  worth  and  intelligence.  Mrs.  Harvie  was 
a most  amiable,  excellent  woman.  Her  pure  and 
blameless  life  left  an  impression  upon  her  children* 
which  may  yet  be  seen  in  their  intercourse  with  the 
world.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Harvie  joined  the  Methodist 
Church  during  the  great  revival  of  religion  among  the 
Broad  River  people  in  1809,  and  gave  ample  evidence 
through  their  after  lives  of  their  sincere  piety. 

William  Harvie  had  no  son.  His  daughter  Lucy 
was  his  darling  pet  child,  who  read  to  him,  and  talked 
to  him  of  what  she  read.  He  loved  flowers,  and  culti- 
vated them  successfully  when  all  others  on  Broad  River 
considered  such  labor  lost.  A rose  bush  in  one  corner, 
and  a hollyhock  in  another,  was  about  as  much  as  was 
allowed  room  for  in  the  Broad  River  gardens  of  the 
things  which  could  not  be  eaten.  There  is  no  training 
of  the  affections  in  the  social  state  like  the  impressions 
made  upon  a daughter  by  the  devoted  love  and  care 
of  a fond  father.  William  ITarvie’s  daughter  Lucy 
continues  to  love  and  cultivate  flowers,  as  if  the  plea- 
sure derived  from  their  fragrance  and  beauty  was 
increased  by  the  knowledge  of  the  enjoyment  which 
her  father  derived  from  the  same  sources.  Lucy 
Harvie  married  Asbury  Hull,  whom  every  body 
has  trusted  from  his  youth  with  increasing  confidence. 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


143 


They  have  six  sons.  Their  oldest  are  men  of  genius 
and  of  the  greatest  social  worth  ; their  younger  sons 
promise  to  equal  in  merit  their  elder  brothers. 

William  Harvie’s  daughter  Martha  married  West 
Harris,  a Methodist  preacher. 

His  daughter  Cfenette  married  Mr.  Van  Lenard,  a 
gentleman  of  fortune  and  respectability. 

His  daughter  Margaret  married  Mr.  Littelbury 
Watts,  who  has  been  a member  of  the  Legislature,  and 
received  other  evidences  of  the  confidence  of  his  fellow- 
citizens. 

His  youngest  daughter,  Mary,  married  John  T. 
Groves,  a graduate  of  Franklin  College,  who  has  de- 
voted his  life  to  the  useful  employment  of  educating 
the  youth  of  his  country. 

Richard  Harvie,  the  elder  brother  of  William 
Harvie,  never  married.  He  was  the  only  gentleman 
of  the  Broad  River  people,  who  enjoyed  otiurn  cum 
dignitati.  His  taste  was  literary,  and  his  time  devoted 
to  reading.  His  library  was  large  and  made  up  of  the 
best  books.  He,  his  mother,  and  brother  William, 
were  one  family  until  William’s  marriage.  They 
lived  at  a beautiful  place  on  Broad  River,  between 
Mr.  Frank  Meriwether’s  and  Mr.  Tom  Meriwether’s. 

Martha,  the  oldest  daughter  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Har- 
vie, was  a worthy  woman,  and  much  beloved  by  her 
family.  She  married,  when  very  young,  John  Moore, 
a handsome,  light,  fantastic  man,  who  loved  fiddling, 
dancing,  and  drinking,  better  than  work,  and  so  passed 
her  days,  with  few  of  the  comforts  of  life,  and  a very 
meagre  share  of  its  pleasures.  John  Moore  wrote  a 
fair  hand,  and  from  the  scarcity  of  that  qualification 
for  business  among  the  early  settlers,  was,  upon  the 
first  organization  of  Oglethorpe  County,  made  Clerk 


144 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


of  the  Superior  Court.  The  confidence  of  the  people 
had  ceased  long  before  the  expiration  of  the  term  of 
his  office.  The  unsuitableness  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Moore 
for  sustaining  the  relation  of  husband  and  wife,  was 
shown  in  the  unfortunate  peculiarities  of  their  children. 

Harvie,  the  oldest,  was  but  little  removed  from 
idiocy.  His  memory  was  the  only  faculty  which 
performed  its  functions  well.  That  was  developed  so 
admirably,  as  to  prove  that  one  branch  of  the  stock 
from  which  he  was  descended  had  intellect.  He  could 
repeat  any  sermon  which  he  heard,  word  for  word, 
though  he  had  no  judgment  to  understand  or  appre- 
ciate its  merits.  Mrs.  Moore’s  son  William  was 
adopted  by  his  aunt,  Mrs.  Devenport.  He  married 
Mary  Marks,  the  half  sister  of  Meriwether  Lewis.  He 
inherited  a large  estate  from  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Devenport, 
which  he  reduced  to  a pittance  by  his  out  of  the  way 
efforts  to  increase  it. 

Mary  Harvie  married  David  Meriwether.  Some- 
thing has  been  already  written,  descriptive  of  her  and 
her  only  child,  Martha,  who  married  Col.  Benjamin 
Taliaferro. 

Margaret  Harvie  married  John  Devenport,  who 
belonged  to  a numerous  family,  most  of  whom  were 
in  the  habit  of  fuddling  their  very  good  intellects  by 
drinking  whiskey.  John  was,  to  his  credit,  a sober, 
industrious  man,  who  made  a good  estate.  His  chief 
merit  was  to  be  found  in  his  success  in  marrying  a wife 
of  the  most  admirable  qualities. 

Genette  Harvie  married  Reuben  Jordan,  one  of  the 
descendants  of  the  Indian  Princess  Pocahontas.  She 
was  the  largest  of  the  Harvie  sisters.  When  Mrs. 
Jordan’s  size  became  too  great  to  visit,  or  go  to 
preaching  in  a carriage,  she  travelled  in  a wagon. 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


145 


She  had  great  conversational  talents,  loved  to  talk, 
had  an  inexhaustible  fund  of  anecdotes,  and  was  not 
le^s  remarkable  for  her  wit,  than  for  her  weight. 

Reuben  Jordan’s  black  eyes,  dark  hair  and  com- 
plexion, erect,  active  person,  made  him  very  handsome 
when  young.  A rich  old  maid  fancied  him.  Being 
without  fortune  himself,  he  married  her.  After  having 
one  child,  she  died,  leaving  him  at  liberty  to  choose 
his  second  wife,  according  to  his  inclination. 

Reuben  Jordan’s  taste  followed  his  Indian  blood. 
When  he  could  not  hunt,  he  sought  excitement  from 
cards,  or  whiskey;  when  neither  hunting,  cards,  nor 
whiskey,  were  accessible,  he  employed  himself  in  pre- 
paring to  enjoy  them  when  they  were,  by  busying 
himself  often  for  days  together,  in  fixing  his  guns. 

Martha,  the  oldest  daughter  of  Mrs.  Jordan,  was  a 
very  pleasant,  pretty  girl.  It  was  the  rule  of  the 
Broad  River  people,  that  their  children  should  begin 
to  improve  their  condition  at  the  earliest  possible 
time.  As  soon  as  girls  began  to  advance  in  their  teens, 
a lookout  was  kept  for  a suitable  husband.  When 
Martha  Jordan  arrived  at  sixteen,  there  was  no  Broad 
River  youth  unmarried,  who  was  in  a fix,  or  old  enough 
to  marry,  so  Martha  was  married  to  Dr.  Bradley,  who 
was  more  than  double  her  age,  because  marry  she 
must.  Old  Bradley,  the  father  of  the  doctor,  lived  on 
Savannah  River,  below  Augusta,  during  the  revolution- 
ary war.  He  was  an  active  whig,  was  made  prisoner 
by  the  British  and  tories,  took  the  small-pox  from  an 
infected  soldier,  and  died  in  the  camp  of  the  enemy. 
He  left  two  sons.  His  widow  married  a Dutch  doctor 
by  the  name  of  De  Yembert.  James,  the  oldest  of 
the  two,  was  educated  at  Mr.  Wilson’s  classical  school, 
in  the  Wax-Haw  settlement,  in  South  Carolina,  and 
10 


146 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


afterwards  studied  medicine  with  his  stepfather.  He 
was  the  first  regular  bred  physician  who  settled  among 
the  Broad  River  people.  Previous  to  his  time  they 
had  relied  on  the  voluntary  services  of  Mr.  Frank 
Meriwether,  or  the  practical  knowledge  of  the  head  of 
each  family.  The  sufferings  of  the  inhabitants  from 
bilious  fever  and  other  diseases,  created  by  extensive 
clearings,  a warm  climate,  Broad  River,  and  its  low 
grounds,  were  very  great.  Dr.  Bradley  practised  for  a 
long  time,  very  acceptably.  He  was  one-eyed,  pot- 
bellied, clumsy,  and  otherwise  odd  enough  looking,  to 
give  the  people  confidence  in  his  skill  at  discovering  the 
hidden  causes  of  diseases.  His  perceptions  were  quick, 
his  temper  well  disposed,  and  his  character  truthful 
and  honest.  Idis  frugal  habits  enabled  him  to  acquire 
a competency,  and  to  quit  practice,  before  he  was  very 
old.  He  willed  the  liberation  of  his  slaves,  about 
forty  in  number,  at  the  death  of  his  wife,  provided 
they  chose  to  go  to  Liberia,  and  furnished  them  with 
the  means  of  going.  All  went,  except  a youth,  who 
could  not  leave  the  girl  he  loved  behind  him.  Poor 
fellow,  his  was  a hard  fate.  He  preferred  the  expect- 
ed bliss  from  love,  to  the  enjoyment  of  liberty.  Pie 
served  for  life,  without  obtaining  his  wished  for  wife. 

Mrs.  Bradley  and  the  Doctor  joined  the  Methodist 
Church,  during  the  great  revival  of  religion  among 
the  Broad  River  people  in  1809,  and  were  devout  until 
death. 

Dr.  Bradley’s  residence  was  about  two  miles  south 
from  Broad  River,  adjoining  the  plantation  of  old 
Micajali  McGehee. 

Reuben,  the  oldest  son  of  Mrs  Jordan,  is  a talking, 
sensible  man,  who,  by  constant  and  vigilant  attention 
to  the  main  chance,  has  become  wealthy.  Pie  has 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


147 


been  several  times  a member  of  the  Legislature,  and 
held  other  public  offices.  His  first  wife  was  Haney, 
the  oldest  daughter  of  Col.  Nicholas  Johnson,  a ruild- 
tempered  and  excellent  woman.  After  her  death,  he 
married  a very  beautiful  young  lady,  the  daughter  of 
Col.  Williamson,  and  a niece  of  the  wife  of  Gen.  John 
Clark. 

Fleming,  the  second  son  of  Mrs.  Jordan,  married 
Anna,  the  oldest  daughter  of  Mr.  Thomas  Meriwether, 
of  Broad  River.  He  lived  in  Jasper  County,  which 
he  has  frequently  represented  in  the  Legislature. 
He  is  a man  of  intelligence  and  wealth.  His  wife, 
now  dead,  was,  when  living,  a pattern  of  excellence. 

Margaret,  the  second  daughter  of  Mrs.  Jordan, 
became  a cripple  when  a child.  With  the  usual  fate 
of  such  females,  her  lot  in  marriage  was  a husband 
much  below  her  in  fortune,  and  quality.  She  was  so 
kind,  patient,  and  good  tempered,  that  she  made  her 
husband  love  her.  Her  fortune  and  economy,  aided  by 
his  skill  in  planting,  made  them  rich. 

Betsey,  the  third  daughter  of  Mrs.  Jordan,  mar- 
ried Dr.  George  Meriwether,  and  died  soon  after. 

Mortimer,  the  third  son  of  Mrs.  Jordan,  married 
the  daughter  of  Hezekiah  Grey,  of  Broad  River,  the 
niece  of  Gen.  John  Scott.  His  Broad  River  habits 
have  made  him  wealthy. 

Charles,  the  fourth  son  of  Mrs.  Jordan,  married 
Rebekah,  daughter  of  Col.  Hick  Johnson.  He  re- 
sides in  Jasper  County.  He  is  cheerful  and  happy, 
and  like  most  lazy  men,  not  very  successful  in  acquir- 
ing riches,  or  distinguished  station.  He  has  lost  his 
first  wife,  and  married  another. 

Elizabeth  Harvie,  another  of  the  nine,  was  very 
large,  weighing  considerably  over  three  hundred.  She 


148 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


was  one  of  the  most  cheerful,  sensible,  agreeable  women 
in  any  country,  at  any  time,  and  as  good  and  kind,  as 
she  was  agreeable.  She  married  James  Marks.  He 
was  a little,  low  man,  who  weighed  about  one  hundred 
and  twenty.  He  was  so  tough  and  lean,  as  to  be  in- 
sensible to  heat  or  cold.  When  the  weather  became 
hot,  it  was  the  custom  of  his  wife,  who  could  not  bear 
heat,  to  double  over  upon  him  the  blankets  which 
covered  the  bed  in  winter.  He  was  shrewd,  and  sharp- 
witted.  The  good  things  which  he  said,  would,  if 
they  could  be  collected,  add  to  the  merits  of  Comus. 
He  was  very  plain  in  dress,  and  economical  in  his  ex- 
penditures.  A year  or  two  after  he  settled  on  Broad 
River,  he  bought,  for  the  first  time,  a small  quantity 
of  coffee,  to  luxuriate  upon  at  breakfast  on  Sunday 
mornings.  One  of  the  grains  was  dropt  on  the  floor 
by  accident,  and  swept  into  the  yard.  A little  negro 
found  it,  and  supposing  it  to  be  a young  terrapin,  put 
it  upon  a chip,  and  carried  it  with  great  wonderment 
to  her  mistress.  James  Marks  was  devotedly  attached 
to  his  wife.  His  desire  to  please  her,  made  him  often 
do  what  no  other  motive  could  have  done.  Mrs. 
Marks  enjoyed  pretty  things,  and  loved  comfort.  Her 
husband  overcame  his  indisposition  to  spend  money, 
so  far  as  to  build  for  her  the  finest  house  on  Broad 
River. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Marks  were  the  first  of  the  Broad 
River  people  who  quitted  the  forms  of  the  Episcopal 
Church  for  the  devotion  of  the  Methodist.  They  were 
the  special  friends  of  Bishop  Asbury,  who  made  their 
house  his  home  when  he  visited  Georgia.  The  first  or- 
ganized Methodist  congregation  on  Broad  River  was 
formed  in  their  neighborhood,  and  through  their 
influence. 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


149 


Their  beautiful  daughter  Martha  married,  by  their 
entreaties,  a Methodist  preacher,  named  Guerry.  The 
sorry  fellow  had  no  love  for  his  wife.  He  imagined 
that  he  would,  by  the  marriage,  become  rich.  Upon 
finding  himself  mistaken,  he  treated  her  like  a brute, 
and,  a year  or  two  after  their  marriage,  abandoned  her. 
Standing  at  the  window  of  her  father’s  fine  new  house, 
looking  out  at  the  flashes  of  liuhtnins:  durum  a thunder- 

o o o o 

storm,  wondering  at  the  mystery  of  God’s  ways,  the 
electric  fluid  passed  through  the  window  into  her 
heart,  and  ended  her  unhappy  life. 

The  Markses  were  constitutionally  perverse.  James 
Marks  used  to  say  in  his  old  age,  that  he  had  been  in 
some  respects  the  most  unfortunate  of  men.  That  he 
was  a most  devoted  Methodist,  and  decided  Democrat ; 
and  that  all  of  his  children,  except  his  ill-fated  daugh- 
ter, who  had  the  least  cause  to  love  him,  were  Infidels 
and  Federalists. 

James  Marks’s  residence  was  on  Broad  River, 
between  Governor  Mathews  and  Colonel  Johnson’s 
plantations. 

John  Marks,  the  oldest  son  of  James  and  Elizabeth 
Marks,  was  thick  and  clumsy  in  person,  with  a superb 
head,  set  off  by  speaking  gray  eyes.  When  quite  a 
youth,  he  fell  in  love  with  Mary  Tomkins,  a very 
pretty  girl,  the  daughter  of  a rude,  ill-tempered  old 
fellow  of  the  neighborhood,  wdio  had  nothing  in  com- 
mon, in  character,  taste  or  feelings,  with  the  Broad 
River  people.  Jack’s  father  and  mother  did  and  said 
whatever  they  could  to  prevent  the  match ; but  Jack 
had  a large  share  of  the  quality  mules  are  most  re- 
markable for.  He  would  go  his  own  way.  His  mar- 
riage did  not  make  his  family  like  his  wife.  He  loved 
her  but  the  more.  Though  he  continued  for  a long 


150 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


time  to  belong  to  the  Broad  Biver  settlement,  he  got  a 
little  off  from  the  kin.  He  had  in  a moment  of  excite- 
ment, when  a youth,  joined  the  Methodist  Church,  of 
which  his  father  and  mother  were  members.  His 
sharp  intellect  saw,  or  made  him  imagine  that  he  saw, 
so  much  that  was  unworthy  of  religion  in  its  professors, 
that  he  quit  his  connection  with  them,  to  indulge  in 
jesting  through  life  against  cant  and  hypocrisy.  He 
grew  up  in  the  political  faith  of  the  Democrats.  His 
father  was  a most  enthusiastic  admirer  and  follower  of 
Mr.  Jefferson.  Jack  found  so  much  palaver  and  pre- 
tence of  patriotism  among  those  in  power,  that  his 
satire  exercised  itself  against  them  until  he  was  ranked 
with  the  most  confirmed  Federalists. 

There  were  no  schools  in  the  country  when  Jack 
Marks  was  a youth.  He  could  read,  but  it  had  to  be 
done  slowly,  and  was  accompanied  with  such  defective 
pronunciation,  that  a boy  of  six  years  old  would  now 
be  punished  if  he  did  not  read  better.  But  he  under- 
stood what  he  read  as  perfectly  as  any  one.  His  humor 
was  constantly  hunting  materials  for  enjoyment.  He 
was  once  building  a log-cabin  in  his  yard  for  some 
domestic  purpose.  He  and  several  of  his  negroes  were 
upon  the  frame,  when  his  wife  came  to  the  place,  and 
began  objecting  to  the  manner  in  which  he  was  fashion- 
ing what  he  was  doing.  He  listened  to  her  for  some 
time,  and  reasoned  the  matter  with  her ; but  she  still 
insisted  upon  having  the  house  made  according  to  her 
own  notions.  He  pulled  off  his  breeches,  and  threw 
them  down  to  her,  telling  her  to  put  them  on  and  wear 
them. 

As  Tam  O’Shanter  made  his  way  home  from  the 
tippling-house  on  his  mare  Maggy,  late  on  a dark 
night,  he  saw  lights  streaming  from  the  old  church  on 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OP  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


151 


the  road  side.  Being  a brave  fellow  in  his  cups,  he 
ventured  up,  and,  looking  in,  saw  the  Old  Boy  seated 
on  a three-legged  stool,  playing  the  bag-pipes  to  the 
witches  of  the  neighborhood.  Recognizing  one  who 
was  younger  than  the  rest,  as  she  jigged  a great  whirl 
about,  he  cried  out  in  ecstacies  at  what  he  saw,  “ Well 
done,  Cutty  Sark ! ” If  Tom  had  been  passing  by 
when  Jack’s  dumpy  person  was  standing  aloft  breech- 
less, and  had  heard  his  speech  to  his  wife,  how  he 
would  have  hallooed  out,  “Well  said,  Short  Shirt ! ” 

Jack  Marks’s  father  showed  by  his  will  that  he  had 
not  forgotten  his  son’s  disobedience  in  his  marriage — 
his  sarcasms  at  the  Methodist  people  and  their  ways — 
the  Democrats  and  their  policy.  He  left  him  a thou- 
sand dollars  only,  giving  the  principal  part  of  his  estate 
to  his  daughter,  Mrs.  Johnson,  and  his  son  Meriwether. 
Jack  was  as  stout  as  his  father  was  unforgiving. 
Though  he  was  not  rich,  he  made  a donation  of  the 
thousand  dollars  to  Franklin  College. 

Jack  Marks  was  capable  of  the  greatest  intellectual 
efforts,  and  the  highest  attainments  in  science,  philoso- 
phy, and  politics.  Though  he  was  without  education, 
his  quick  repartee,  keen  sarcasm,  close  extensive  obser- 
vation, made  him  one  of  the  most  sensible,  agreeable 
talkers  of  his  day. 

He  removed  from  Broad  River,  in  Madison  County, 
to  Jasper,  where  he  found  a larger  field  for  fun  and 
satire,  better  lands  for  cultivation,  and  more  improved 
society  for  his  children.  One  of  his  daughters  married 
Judge  Kenan,  and  another  David  Meriwether. 

He  was  very  industrious  and  economical,  and  ac- 
quired a very  good  estate.  He  removed  to  Alabama, 
where  he  died. 

Meriwether  Marks,  the  second  son  of  Mrs.  Marks, 


152 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


was.  like  his  brother  Jack,  remarkable  for  quick,  clear 
mental  perceptions,  and  successful  disputation.  He 
married  Ann  Mathews,  the  daughter  of  William,  and 
granddaughter  of  Governor  Mathews.  He  removed 
from  Broad  Kiver,  shortly  after  his  marriage,  to  Mont- 
gomery, Alabama,  where  he  acquired  a great  extent  of 
the  most  productive  lands,  and  died  very  wealthy. 
His  son  William  is  now  probably  the  richest  man  in 
the  United  States  of  his  age  whose  occupation  has  been 
confined  to  planting.  His  daughter  Elizabeth  married 
William  B.  S.  Gilmer.  His  daughter  Ann  married 
Thomas  Scott,  son  of  General  Scott.  His  daughter 
Martha  married  James  Watkins,  the  son  of  Thomson 
Watkins.  His  daughter  Bebekah  married  George 
Mathews,  son  of  Charles,  and  grandson  of  Governor 
Mathews.  Samuel,  his  youngest  son,  married  Miss 
Crane,  and  is  very  rich. 

Mary.  dir.  and  Mrs.  Marks's  oldest  daughter,  mar- 
ried Col.  Mick  Johnson.  They  are  described  elsewhere. 

Mary  Cosby,  the  sister  of  Mrs.  William  Harvie, 
married  John  Andrew,  a Methodist  preacher.  He 
quit  the  circuit  for  his  locality,  which  was  on  the  Elbert 
side  of  Broad  Biver,  opposite  dir.  William  Harvie’s, 
where  he  commenced  the  trade  of  merchandise  with  the 
property  which  he  got  with  his  wife,  and  the  very  little 
which  he  had  himself.  The  spirit  of  trade  and  the 
spirit  of  preaching  never  agree  together.  One  or  the 
other  will  get  the  upper  hand,  if  the  unnatural  union 
is  continued.  It  is  certain  that  John  Andrew  failed  in 
trade,  and  found  mauy  stumbling-blocks  in  the  way  of 
preaching.  After  all  his  property  was  taken  to  pay  his 
mercantile  liabilities,  and  he  and  his  wife  left  to  labor 
without  assistance  for  their  own  and  their  children’s 
support,  he  took  to  school  keeping.  The  little  ones  are 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


153 


pretty  sure  to  have  a sore  time  who  learn  ABC  from 
a harassed,  broken  trader.  Many  had  knowledge 
forced  upon  them  by  the  switching  looks  of  John 
Andrew.  Being  very  hard  visaged,  he  appeared  as  if 
he  was  always  ready  to  cut  the  truant  scholar  in  two. 
The  pay  for  school  keeping  was  in  early  times,  in  upper 
Georgia,  the  poorest  pittance.  The  people  wanted 
their  children  for  work,  and  kept  them  at  it,  except  at 
leisure  times,  and  when  schooling  could  be  had  cheap. 
John  Andrew,  his  wife  and  children,  had  to  scuffle  and 
pinch  to  provide  food,  and  oftentimes,  with  all  their 
exertions,  found  it  scarce.  It  was  then  that  the  spirit 
of  devotion  strengthened  the  spirit  of  the  wife  and  mo- 
ther in  her  cares,  and  comforted  her  in  her  troubles. 

Mrs.  Andrew  had  loved  her  husband,  homely  as  he 
was,  with  increased  affection,  because  of  the  holy  pur- 
poses of  his  life.  It  is  in  sore  trials  and  great  suffering 
that  woman’s  love  shows  its  true  value.  Mrs.  Andrew 
made  herself  more  precious  than  gold  when  her  hus- 
band’s purse  became  empty.  With  the  strong  faith  of 
the  true  Christian,  she  labored  without  ceasing  during 
her  life,  to  perform  all  the  duties  of  wife  and  mother. 
The  blessing  of  heaven  never  fails  to  follow  the  prayers 
and  industry  of  such  a wife  and  mother.  Her  oldest 
son  James,  excited  by  her  spirit  and  example,  worked 
hard  in  the  field  during  the  day,  collected  light-wood 
knots  on  his  return  home,  and  toiled  by  their  light 
after  knowledge  during  the  night.  Nobody  works  in 
vain  who  works  aright.  The  light  which  enlightened 
the  world  shined  into  the  heart  of  James  Andrew  so 
brightly,  that  he  could  not  restrain  his  desire  to  be  the 
medium  of  communicating  it  to  others.  He  was 
licensed  to  preach.  The  brotherhood  by  whom  the 
license  was  granted,  when  they  heard  his  first  sermon, 


154 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


regretted  what  they  had  done,  so  hesitating  and  unsat- 
isfactory was  the  young  enthusiast’s  effort.  But  the 
right  spirit  was  in  him,  though  the  knowledge  and  apt- 
ness to  communicate  had  not  keen  acquired.  James 
Andrew  found  the  assistance,  which  in  his  devotion  he 
asked  for,  to  aid  his  efforts  to  overcome  the  deficiencies 
of  ignorance  and  inexperience.  He  soon  made  himself 
greatly  superior  in  learning  and  the  art  of  public 
speaking  to  those  who  were  most  opposed  to  his  being 
licensed.  And  now  the  Methodist  Church  has  no 
member  of  greater  usefulness,  nor  one  more  efficiently 
devoted  to  the  great  purpose  of  its  organization — the 
making  known,  with  power  in  simplicity,  the  truths  of 
the  Gospel — than  Bishop  Andrew. 

Herbert  Andrew,  the  second  son  of  Mrs.  Andrew, 
had  his  dependence  as  a child  increased  by  disease, 
which  made  him  a cripple  for  life.  His  feet  and  legs 
became  so  contracted  as  to  rest  on  his  body  instead  of 
the  ground.  When  other  children  were  running 
about,  he  was  confined  to  his  mother’s  side.  Whilst 
thus  seated,  receiving  her  instruction  how  to  read,  he 
heard  from  that  fond,  devoted,  pious  mother,  how  the 
best  and  holiest  of  all  had  suffered  without  repining, 
because  it  was  the  will  of  his  Heavenly  Father,  until 
there  came  upon  the  spirit  of  the  deformed  boy  the 
strongest  desire  to  imitate  his  example.  Herbert 
Andrew  struggled  to  do  whatever  was  possible  in  aid 
of  his  mother,  in  her  hard  effort  to  support  her  family, 
and  effected  more  than  most  imagined  possible.  When 
he  had  learned  what  his  mother  could  teach  him,  he 
went  to  school,  moving  upon  his  hands  instead  of  his 
feet.  By  his  mother’s  assistance,  some  little  schooling, 
and  his  own  untiring  exertions,  he  qualified  himsell  for 
teaching  others.  He  has  now  been  teaching  near 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER.  GEORGIA. 


155 


twenty  years.  His  energy  and  ceaseless  industry  have 
secured  him  the  greatest  success.  Whilst  keeping 
school,  he  has  acquired  by  his  unassisted  exertions  such 
knowledge  of  the  various  departments  of  learning,  that 
his  scholars  are  admirably  qualified  for  entrance  into 
college.  His  pure  life,  the  strength  of  his  determina- 
tion in  overcoming  difficulties,  and  the  energy  of  his 
efforts  in  doing  good,  made  such  an  impression  upon 
the  people  among  whom  he  lived,  that  they  gave  him 
some  assistance  by  electing  him  to  a public  office,  the 
duties  of  which  he  could  discharge  without  interfering 
with  the  attention  due  to  his  school. 

Mrs.  Andrew’s  burdens  were  increased  by  her  care 
for  her  husband’s  deaf,  blind,  dumb  brother,  whose 
filthy  habits  and  irascible  disposition  added  to  the  un- 
bearableness of  his  idiocy.  He  put  him  into  a hut  in 
the  yard  of  the  family  cabin.  Every  morning  the  un- 
fortunate came  out  by  light,  walked  round  the  hut 
twenty  times  ; then  went  to  each  of  three  trees  close  by, 
and  round  them  twenty  times  ; then  to  the  cabin-door, 
stepped  on  the  sill  with  left  foot  foremost,  and  down 
twenty  times ; then  with  his  right  foot  foremost,  and 
down  twenty  times ; then  went  into  the  cabin,  put  his 
hand  on  the  facing  of  the  door,  and  thumped  the  upper 
part  twenty  times ; and  then  thumped  below  twenty 
times  ; and  then  eat  voraciously  of  what  was  prepared 
for  breakfast.  This  unvaried  round  was  continued  for 
near  twenty  years,  and  until  his  death.  When  the 
idiot  became  outrageous,  as  he  often  did,  Mrs.  Andrew 
would  lay  her  hand  upon  his  arm.  It  quieted  him,  as 
if  he  felt  the  force  of  sympathy  coming  from  her  kind 
heart.  He  regarded  nobody  else.  Cut  off  from  so- 
ciety by  constant  confinement  at  home — seeing  there 
at  all  times  the  most  painful  object  which  is  ever 


156 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


looked  upon — her  children  harassed — the  scanty  food 
and  clothing  which  she  provided  for  them  by  her  own 
hard  labor,  divided  with  one  who  had  no  good  quality, 
was  without  hope,  and  incapable  of  being  made  better 
— Mrs.  Andrew  never  forgot  to  care  for  the  idiot,  and 
to  do  for  him  all  possible  good — dims  giving  to  the 
world  an  example  of  love  and  charity,  which  the  world 
for  its  own  sake  should  keep  in  perpetual  remembrance. 
Sir  Philip  Sidney,  when  dying  of  wounds  on  the  field 
of  battle,  took  the  cup  of  water  from  his  own  parched 
lips,  to  cool  the  burning  thirst  of  the  soldier,  then 
struggling  for  life  by  his  side.  The  divinity  which 
sometimes  stirs  man’s,  abides  in  woman’s  heart. 


THE  TALIA FERROS. 

Surnames,  which  now  belong  to  every  body,  were 
originally  acquired  by  our  European  ancestors  through 
remarkable  traits  of  character,  great  feats  at  fighting, 
or  some  personal  peculiarity.  The  name  Taliaferro 
was  derived  from  the  Latin  words  tabs  and  ferrum,  or, 
as  Mr.  John  Taliaferro  says,  from  the  Italian  words 
Tagliari  and  ferro ; both  the  Latin  and  Italian  signify- 
ing to  cut  with  iron.  This  name  indicates  for  what 
virtue,  as  a Roman  would  say,  the  original  stock  of 
Taliaferros  got  their  cognomen. 

Two  brothers  emigrated  from  Italy  to  Virginia  in 
the  early  colonial  times,  and  settled  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  Williamsburg.  Only  one  of  them  left  male 
descendants.  They  have  increased  and  scattered,  until 
the  name  of  Taliaferro  is  now  known  in  most  of  the 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


157 


States  south  of  the  Potomac,  their  Italian  blood  not 
suiting  the  climate  of  the  north,  nor  their  taste  the 
phleghm  of  the  northern  people.  Individuals  here 
and  there  still  show  their  origin  by  the  practice  of  im- 
provisation. Mr.  Jefferson  describes  the  family  in  Vir- 
ginia as  wealthy  and  respectable.  Chancellor  Wythe, 
who  signed  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  and  was 
a great  Virginian,  married  one  of  them. 

Zack  Taliaferro  removed  from  the  neighborhood  of 
Williamsburg  to  Amherst  County,  where  he  settled 
and  married.  From  the  crossings  of  his  immediate  an- 
cestors he  had  lost  the  beauty  and  effeminacy  of  the 
original  stock.  Pie  was  as  rough  in  looks  and  temper 
as  the  face  of  the  country  of  his  new  home.  At  the 
time  when  he  located  in  Amherst  County,  and  for 
some  time  after,  disputes  among  the  mountain  men 
were  usually  settled  by  the  law  of  arms,  in  which  fists 
were  the  weapons  of  war.  When  champion  pugilists 
were  about  to  fight,  a ring  was  formed,  with  the  com- 
batants inside,  and  the  crowd  out.  The  contest  fre- 
quently ended  with  the  loss  of  an  eye,  or  an  ear ; 
scarcely  ever  without  blacking  or  bluing  the  face  and 
ribs.  Zack  was  a capital  hand  at  such  affairs,  and 
never  backed  out,  however  overmatched.  lie  was  one 
of  the  justices  of  Amherst  County  when  the  senior 
justice  was  entitled  to  be  sheriff  for  the  county ; the 
perquisites  of  that  office  being  the  only  pay  which  the 
justice  received  for  even  a life-time  service.  Old  Zack 
had  much  higher  qualifications  for  acting  sheriff  than 
judging.  A little  after  the  commencement  of  the  year 
when  he  became  senior  justice,  and  his  sheriffalty  was 
to  begin,  but  before  he  was  sworn  in,  he  met  with  a 
notorious  outlaw,  who  had  been  able  previously  to 
avoid  punishment  for  his  misdeeds  by  avoiding  arrest. 


158 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


The  outlaw  took  to  his  heels,  and  old  Zack  after  him. 
The  pursued,  finding  that  he  was  about  to  be  over- 
taken, plunged  into  a mill-pond  near  by,  though  the 
January  cold  was  then  pinching  severely,  taking  it  for 
granted  that  he  would  not  be  followed.  He  reckoned 
without  his  host.  Old  Zack  deliberately  walked  in 
after  him,  took  the  scamp  by  the  collar,  drew  him  out 
of  the  water,  and  then  turned  him  loose,  telling  him 
that  he  might  know  by  what  he  had  done  what  he 
would  do  when  he  was  sheriff. 

Benjamin  Taliaferro  was  the  oldest  son  of  Zack. 
ITe  had  just  begun  to  mix  with  men,  when  he  was 
challenged  by  a bully  before  a crowd  in  the  court-yard 
to  a contest  at  fisty-cuffs.  He  was  too  proud  to  accept, 
and  was  threatened  with  disinheritance  by  his  father 
for  his  supposed  want  of  courage.  That  he  was  not 
afraid  to  fight,  when  fighting  was  right,  he  proved  in 
many  of  the  hardest  fought  battles  of  the  Revolution. 
He  was  appointed  at  the  beginning  of  the  war  a lieu- 
tenant in  one  of  the  Virginia  regiments,  which  was 
afterwards  placed  upon  the  Continental  establishment. 
He  commanded  a company  under  Gen.  Washington 
during  the  severe  service  in  the  Jerseys,  in  1777-78. 
At  the  battle  of  Princeton  he  captured,  with  his  com- 
pany, a British  captain  and  his  command.  When  the 
British  officer  stepped  forward  in  his  dashing  regimen- 
tals to  deliver  up  his  sword,  the  proud  barefooted  cap- 
tain ordered  his  lieutenant  to  receive  it.  At  the  call 
of  Gen.  Washington  he  volunteered  to  join  the  south- 
ern army,  then  under  the  command  of  Gen.  Lincoln. 
He  served  under  Col.  Lee,  and  took  part  in  many  of  the 
successful  exploits  of  that  dashing  partisan  officer.  He 
was  made  prisoner  at  the  capture  of  Charleston,  and 
permitted  to  return  home  on  parole.  He  was  in  the 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


159 


full  vigor  of  young  manhood,  when  he  left  the  British 
quarters  to  mis  again  with  his  neighbors  in  Amherst. 
His  person  was  six  feet  high,  his  features  handsome, 
and  his  understanding  good.  Army  intercourse  had 
refined  his  manners  and  made  his  conversation  agree- 
able. 

Martha  Meriwether,  the  only  child  of  David  Meri- 
wether, a neighbor  of  old  Zack,  was  a blooming, 
charming  young  woman,  when  Capt.  Taliaferro  re- 
turned to  Amherst.  They  soon  met,  admired,  and 
loved.  Martha  Meriwether  had  previously  been  en- 
gaged to  marry  Zack  Taliaferro,  a brother  of  Capt. 
Taliaferro.  The  struggle  was  hard  on  the  part  of  the 
army  man  of  honor  to  resist  the  temptation  to  super- 
sede his  brother.  But  love  conquers  all.  The  red-coat 
got  the  better  of  the  gown.  The  brothers  quarrelled 
and  parted,  never  again  to  meet  in  friendship.  The 
disappointed  lover  quitted  his  country  for  a residence 
in  Pendleton,  South  Carolina,  where  he  remained  a 
bachelor  until  the  bright  hopes  inspired  by  youthful 
beauty  were  dissipated  by  the  loose  habits  of  frontier 
society  and  the  struggles  of  a lawyer’s  life. 

Capt.  Taliaferro  moved  to  Georgia  in  178  f.  He 
became  one  of  the  leading  men  of  the  State ; was  Pre- 
sident of  the  Senate,  member  of  Congress,  and  filled 
many  other  high  offices.  He  was  a member  of  the 
Legislature  which  passed  the  Yazoo  Act,  and  resisted 
all  the  efforts  of  the  speculators  to  induce  him  to  vote 
for  it.  When  the  people  of  Georgia  rescinded  that 
Act,  and  discarded  from  office  those  concerned  in  its 
passage,  Col.  Taliaferro  was  made  Judge  of  the  Su- 
perior Court,  though  he  was  no  lawyer.  The  members 
of  the  bar  who  had  the  law  learning  necessary  for  the 
office,  and  were  willing  to  accept  it,  had  been  con- 


160 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


cerned  in  some  way  or  other  with  that  disgraceful  con- 
tract. It  became  very  important  to  the  fraudulent 
land  jobbers,  who  were  interested  in  land  causes  de- 
pending in  the  courts  of  the  circuit  in  which  Col.  Tal- 
iaferro presided,  to  drive  him  from  the  bench.  By 
agreement  among  them,  he  was  challenged  by  Col. 
Willis,  upon  some  frivolous  pretence,  to  fight  a duel, 
upon  the  supposition  that  his  army  opinions  would 
compel  him  to  fight,  and  therefore  to  resign  his  judge- 
ship.  They  were  mistaken.  ITe  accepted  the  chal- 
lenge without  resigning.  The  speculators  tried  a novel 
expedient  to  effect  their  purpose.  Judge  Taliaferro’s 
attachment  to  his  wife  was  well  known.  Col.  Willis 
and  his  friends,  to  overcome  the  Judge’s  determina- 
tion to  fight,  made  their  preparations  for  the  duel  by 
practising  within  sight  and  hearing  of  Mrs.  Taliaferro, 
intending  thereby  so  to  frighten  her  as  to  make  it  im- 
possible for  her  husband  to  meet  the  challengers.  They 
were  again  mistaken.  Whilst  they  were  practising, 
Mrs.  Taliaferro  was  aiding  the  Judge  to  put  in  order 
the  horseman’s  pistols  which  he  had  used  when  he  be- 
longed to  Lee’s  Legion.  The  Judge  and  his  opponent 
met.  The  pistol,  which  had  been  oiled  by  the  wife, 
sent  its  ball  so  near  the  speculator’s  vitals  that  he  de- 
clined receiving  a second  shot. 

Col.  Taliaferro’s  residence  was  on  the  south  side, 
and  about  half  a mile  from  Broad  Biver,  and  ten  miles 
from  its  junction  with  the  Savannah.  His  house  was 
of  the  order  called  framed,  in  contradistinction  to  the 
round  and  hewed  log  buildings  in  general  use.  It  was 
a story  and  a half  high,  with  dormer  windows,  struc- 
tures which  projected  from  the  sides  of  the  roof  of  the 
house,  and  were  in  fashion  in  that  part  of  the  Old  Do- 
minion, where  Col.  Taliaferro’s  ancestors  had  lived  be- 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA.  161 

fore  his  father  moved  to  Amherst  County.  They  were 
designed  to  give  air  at  night  to  the  crowds  who  assem- 
bled to  frolic,  and  whose  homes  were  too  distant  to 
be  reached  for  sleep  after  they  left  off  dancing.  A few 
such  windows  are  yet  to  be  seen  from  the  steamboats 
which  ply  between  Richmond  and  Norfolk  in  the  anti- 
quated houses  which  stand  on  the  first  hills  above  the 
low  grounds  of  James  River,  and  are  about  the  last 
remnants  of  the  times  when  social  enjoyments  were 
more  eagerly  sought  after  than  money.  This  story 
and  a half  house,  with  its  dormer  windows,  was  con- 
sidered for  a long  time  the  head-quarters  of  Broad 
River  gentility. 

Colonel  Taliaferro  had  nine  children  by  his  first 
wife.  After  her  death,  he  outraged  the  romance  of 
their  strong  attachment,  by  marrying  a dependent 
young  woman  of  the  neighborhood,  of  the  name  of  Cos, 
about  whom  any  romance  would  have  been  ridiculous. 
She  had  one  child,  a son. 

Colonel  Taliaferro' 's  Children. 

Emily  married  Isham  Watkins. 

Louis  Bourbon  (after  Louis,  the  King  of  France) 
married  Betsy  Johnson. 

Betsy  died  unmarried. 

Benjamin  married  Martha  Watkins. 

Martha  married  William  McGehee. 

David  married  Mary  Barnett. 

Thornton  married  Miss  Green ; second  wife,  Mrs. 
Lamar. 

Margaret  married  Joseph  Green. 

Nicholas  married  Melinda  Hill. 

Zack  married  . 


11 


162 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


Sally,  the  oldest  sister  of  Col.  Taliaferro,  married 
Daniel  Harvie.  She  was  one  of  the  most  sensible,  ex- 
emplary women  on  Broad  River.  Her  residence  and 
children  are  described  in  the  account  of  the  Harvies. 

Richard  Taliaferro  was  deformed — his  less  and 
thighs  being  only  a span  or  two  long,  whilst  his  body 
was  of  ordinary  length  and  size,  and  his  head  unusually 
large.  His  mind  was  of  good  capacity,  but  his  defor- 
mity so  soured  his  temper,  and  mortified  his  pride,  as 
to  drive  him  from  society.  He  never  married,  became 
very  penurious,  and  died  without  ever  having  enjoyed 
the  love  or  commiseration  of  any  but  his  nearest  kin. 
His  residence  was  near  his  brother-in-law,  Thomas 
Watkins. 

Warren  Taliaferro  was  tall,  muscular,  good-temper- 
ed, very  indolent  and  inefficient.  He  constantly  re- 
minded those  who  listened  to  his  conversation  of  his 
Italian  descent.  He  married  Mary  M.  Gilmer,  daugh- 
ter of  Thomas  M.  Gilmer.  He  was  a fond  husband 
and  father.  His  residence  was  south  of  Broad  River, 
and  between  the  dwellings  of  his  brother-in-law, 
Thompson  Watkins,  and  his  brother,  Col.  Taliaferro. 

Burton,  the  youngest  of  the  Taliaferros,  was  very 
handsome — had  the  manners,  and  wrore  the  dress,  of  a 
well-bred  gentleman.  He  read  and  enjoyed  novels  and 
plays,  and  fashioned  his  habits  accordingly.  He  mar- 
ried Sally  Gilmer,  daughter  of  John  Gilmer.  He 
resided,  during  the  year  that  his  wife  lived,  near  Broad 
River,  on  the  land,  and  close  by  Thomas  M.  Gilmer. 
He  loved  good  eating,  drinking,  and  fine  clothes.  His 
property  was  not  sufficient  for  free  indulgence.  After 
the  death  of  his  first  wife,  he  went  to  Virginia,  and 
married  the  miser,  Miss  Carter,  who  counted  her  gold 
by  stockings  full,  upon  condition  that  she  would  allow 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


163 


him  enough  of  her  treasure  to  enable  him  to  feast  his 
animal  appetites. 

Nancy  Taliaferro  married  Thompson  Watkins.  She 
was  a very  industrious,  economical  woman.  By  her 
exertions  she  made  her  husband  a citizen  of  property. 
They  lived  a mile  or  two  from  Broad  River,  and  near 
Mrs.  Sally  Harvie’s,  Mrs.  Watkins’s  sister.  They  had 
but  two  children.  Zachariah,  the  oldest,  married  Edna 
Bibb,  the  daughter  of  Mr.  Peyton  Bibb.  James  mar- 
ried Martha  Marks,  daughter  of  Mr.  Meriwether  Marks. 

Frances  Taliaferro  married  Moses  Penn.  They  re- 
moved from  Virginia  many  years  after  the  first  settle- 
ment was  made  on  Broad  River  by  their  relations,  and 
fixed  their  abode  between  the  north  and  south  rivers, 
whose  confluence  make  Broad  River,  where  Mr.  Penn 
died  soon  after.  Mrs.  Penn  was  a good  woman,  a kind 
wife,  an  affectionate  mother,  and  most  enthusiastic  Meth- 
odist. One  of  her  daughters  married  the  Rev.  Dabney 
Jones,  whose  long  and  continued  efforts  to  lessen  the  evils 
of  drunkenness — the  disgrace  of  our  glorious  country — 
entitle  him  to  be  called  one  of  its  great  benefactors. 

Another  of  Mrs.  Penn’s  daughters  married  Mr. 
Edward  Ware,  who  proved  himself  a good  husband 
and  kind  father. 

IBs.  Penn’s  son  Richard  was  a very  respectable 
citizen. 


THE  McGEHEES. 

Micajah  McGehee  was  a native  of  Virginia,  and 
descended,  as  his  name  indicates,  from  a Scotch  family. 
He  was  broad-shouldered,  short-necked,  and  showed  by 


164 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


liis  looks  and  ways  that  he  was  a tobacco  planter  of  the 
right  sort.  He  knew  nothing  about  books,  and  spoke 
out  what  he  thought  directly,  and  in  the  plainest  way. 
Soon  after  he  became  his  own  man,  he  was  employed 
by  Mr.  Scott,  a wealthy  gentleman,  of  the  family  to 
which  Gen.  Winfield  Scott  belongs,  to  do  some  planta- 
tion business  for  him.  According  to  Virginia  fashion, 
intercourse  between  employers  and  employed  was 
without  restraint.  Nancy  Scott  soon  saw  in  the  looks 
of  young  McGeliee  that  she  suited  his  fancy.  It  is  not 
in  woman’s  heart  to  be  unmoved  by  admiration.  She 
looked  in  return  at  the  hearty,  hale,  strong-built,  rosy- 
cheeked  youth,  until  his  image  became  so  impressed 
upon  her  imagination  that  she  saw  others  very  indiffer- 
ently. When  two  such  people  have  wills  under  such 
influences,  they  are  very  apt  to  find  a way  to  do  as 
they  want.  The  gentility  of  the  Scotts  disposed  them 
to  look  down  upon  the  working  Micajah,  and  to  oppose 
the  union.  The  young  people,  nevertheless,  got  mar- 
ried. Not  choosing  to  belong  to  the  society  of  those 
who  thought  themselves  above  them,  they  removed  to 
Georgia,  and  settled  on  Broad  Tviver.  Though  Mica- 
jah was  wanting  in  polish,  his  father-in-law  understood 
his  worth,  as  a man  of  industry,  economy,  and  honesty. 
He  gave  him  liberally  of  his  property.  Micajah  made 
good  use  of  it,  by  purchasing  a large  body  of  the  best 
land  in  Georgia,  particularly  suited  for  the  production  of 
tobacco,  then  the  staple  of  the  State.  He  was  an  adept 
at  cultivating  and  packing  it  up  in  the  best  way. 
Though  he  was  without  book-learning,  he  had  the  in- 
stinctive capacity  of  the  Scotch  people  and  their  de- 
scendants for  making  and  keeping  money.  He  was  the 
first  of  the  settlers  who  planted  a peach-orchard  on  the 
waters  of  Broad  Eiver,  turned  its  fruit  into  brandy,  and 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA.  1 ( 5 

then  into  dollars.  The  habit  of  drinking  what  made 
drunkenness  was,  in  early  times  among  the  frontier 
folks,  almost  universal.  Brandy  making  and  selling 
was  the  most  profitable  of  all  employments.  Micajah 
McGehee  made  from  his  orchard  sixteen  hundred  dol- 
lars a year,  when  that  sum  purchased  as  much  as  five 
thousand  dollars  does  now.  He  had  twelve  children, 
upon  each  of  whom  he  enforced  the  habit  of  hard  work. 
He  became  rich  through  the  labor  of  his  negroes,  his 
children’s  industry,  and  his  own  economy.  He  built 
the  first  comfortable  frame-house  on  Broad  River.  It 
had  four  rooms  below  stairs,  several  above,  was  covered 
with  shingles,  and  painted  red.  It  was  a great  place 
for  the  old  Virginia  amusement  of  dancing. 

Micajah  McGeliee’s  constitution  was  so  strong,  that 
he  battled  with  death,  taking  brandy  until  he  was  up- 
wards of  eighty  years  old.  "When  he  was  young,  it 
took  drinking  all  day  to  make  him  drunk.  When  he 
was  old,  he  got  drunk  twice  a day.  He  became  a 
member  of  the  Methodist  Church  during  the  great 
religious  excitement  of  1809-10-11.  He  still  continued 
to  get  drunk.  When  he  was  spoken  to  about  it,  he 
said  that  the  habit  was  so  confirmed  that  he  could  not 
live  without  the  free  use  of  brandy.  He  was  requested 
to  say  what  quantity  was  necessary  for  his  health.  He 
agreed  to  try  to  limit  himself  to  a quart  a day,  but  the 
allowance  failed  to  keep  him  alive. 

Mrs.  McGehee  was  exceedingly  kind  and  hospitable. 
It  belonged  to  her  Scott  temper  to  be  so.  After  her 
marriage,  she  added  to  the  genteel  habits  of  her  own 
family  the  industry  of  her  husband’s.  She  never  stop- 
ped or  tired  of  working  for  her  husband  and  children. 
Her  house  was  a place  of  hard  work  and  of  good  eat- 
ing. She  had  a very  pressing  way  of  urging  her  friends 


166 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


to  partake  of  what  she  set  before  them.  During  the 
early  pinching  times,  when  tempting  food  was  reserved 
for  Sundays  and  friends,  Mr.  Thomas  Meriwether  called 
one  day  when  very  hungry — the  family  meal  over — 
and  was  set  down  to  what  he  liked  very  much.  Mrs. 
McGehee  very  politely  urged  him  to  eat,  saying  that 
he  was  taking  so  little  that  he  could  not  relish  what 
she  had  provided  for  him.  His  own  candid  temper 
and  way  of  talking  made  him  suppose  that  Mrs. 
McGehee  might  be  hurt  if  he  did  not  consume  more 
than  he  was  disposed  to  do.  He  eat  on  until  suffering 
stopped  him. 

Mrs.  McGehee  once  performed  a feat  of  industry 
which  was  hard  to  beat.  She  spun,  wove,  cut  out,  and 
made  up  a petticoat  in  one  day,  and  wore  it  the  next. 

Industrious  as  she  was,  she  continued  to  have  the 
quality  taste  of  her  family  for  display.  She  induced 
her  husband  to  buy  a carriage,  when  nobody  else  on 
Broad  River  had  one.  It  was  a stick-backed  gig. 
Sunday  was  their  visiting  day.  The  next  after  the 
purchase,  the  old  gentleman  and  his  wife  came  in  it  to 
my  father’s  to  dinner.  The  road  had  just  before  been 
cut  around  a new-ground  fence,  and  was  very  full  of 
stumps.  The  old  man  turned  the  gig  over.  When 
they  arrived  at  my  father’s,  the  old  lady  complained  of 
great  pain.  The  old  man  insisted  that  she  ought  not 
to  moan  so,  for  that,  when  he  found  the  gig  going  over, 
he  had  spread  himself,  and  caught  her  upon  his  back, 
to  prevent  her  being  hurt. 

Tom  McGehee,  the  oldest  son  of  Micajah,  was  a 
very  stout,  coarse,  strong  man.  He  was  industrious, 
economical,  straightforward,  truthful,  and  honest.  His 
plantation  was  on  Broad  River,  between  the  Goosepond 
creek  and  the  Goosepond  plantation.  It  was  very 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


167 


fertile,  and  Tom  grew  ricli  upon  it.  He  and  liis  neigh- 
bor, Col.  Charles  Mathews,  never  agreed  after  his  threat 
to  thrash  federalism  out  of  him,  when  he  and  William 
Barnett  quarelled  at  my  father’s.  1 hey  met  one  day 
in  the  public  road,  where  they  had  an  altercation  about 
hogs  getting  into  corn  fields.  Tom  McGehee  made 
some  offensive  speech,  to  which  Col.  Mathews  replied 
by  a cutting  Irish  sarcasm,  which  so  enraged  Tom, 
that  he  swore  he  could  whip  three  such  as  he  was,  and 
made  at  him.  Col.  Mathews  drew  out  his  penknife, 
and  presented  it  in  a threatening  aspect.  Cold  steel 
kept  off  Tom’s  big  fist. 

When  Tom  McGehee  acquired  more  negroes  than 
he  had  land  to  cultivate,  he  was  obliged  to  sell  because 
nobody  else  would  whose  land  adjoined  his.  He  re- 
moved to  Upper  Alabama,  where  he  died.  His  wife 
was  Betsey  Gilmer,  the  daughter  of  my  father’s  uncle, 
John  Gilmer.  Their  children  have  all  gone  to  Texas, 
in  search  of  what  all  the  McGehees  have  peculiar 
genius  for  finding. 

James,  the  second  son  of  Micajah  McGehee,  was 
said  by  the  old  people  to  have  been  very  smart  when 
a boy.  A horse  threw  his  head  against  a tree,  which 
so  confused  his  brain  that  he  was  never  smart  again. 
He  once  got  the  better  of  Gov.  Mathews  in  a horse 
trade,  though  the  Governor  was  acknowledged  by  every 
body  to  be  the  best  judge  of  a horse  in  the  whole 
country.  The  feat  was  more  prized  by  Jemmy  than 
if  he  had  got  the  first  honor  of  a college. 

He  married  a busy,  bustling,  little  woman,  whose 
name  I do  not  recollect.  He  lived  on  the  south  of  his 
brother  Tom,  a mile  and  a half  from  Broad  Biver. 
He  removed  to  Putnam  County.  My  wife  was  with 
me  on  my  return  home  from  serving  in  the  Legislature 


168 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


of  1824.  When  we  arrived  at  Garnen’s  Ferry,  the 
Oconee  was  so  high,  from  the  great  quantity  of  rain 
which  had  fallen,  that  the  ferryman  would  not  put  us 
across.  We  had  been  so  long  from  home  that  we  were 
very  anxious  to  get  through  ; so  we  went  below  a mile 
or  two,  with  a large  party,  to  a ferry  kept  by  James 
McGehee.  In  consideration  of  large  pay  he  agreed  to 
ferry  us  over.  The  river  was  out  of  its  banks  on  the 
Green  County  side.  It  was  sweeping,  booming,  and 
dashing  through  the  trees  on  the  side  where  we  were, 
carrying  off  with  its  current  great  quantities  of  floating 
timber.  James  McGehee,  assisted  by  his  sons  and 
several  negroes,  towed  the  boat  up  the  river,  along  the 
bank,  by  ropes,  hooks,  and  the  limbs  of  the  trees. 
My  wife  standing  near  by  the  workers,  at  the  head  of 
the  boat,  quietly  looked  on.  After  going  up  some 
distance,  the  head  of  the  boat  was  turned,  and  being 
worked  manfully  with  oars,  landed  us  in  an  open  field 
on  the  other  side.  James  McGehee  was  afterwards 
often  heard  to  tell  of  what  a wonderful  woman  his 
neighbor’s  son  had  married. 

Frank,  the  third  son,  was  very  clever.  He  died 
just  after  he  reached  manhood. 

Abner,  the  fourth  son,  is  social,  polite,  courteous 
and  affable,  kind  and  hospitable.  He  settled  on  a high 
hill,  not  far  from  Broad  River,  on  the  Elbert  side,, 
opposite  his  brother  Tom.  He  turned  his  hand  to  any 
thing  to  make  money.  He  was  a planter,  tanner,  and 

general  trader.  The  Legislature,  in  the  year , 

incorporated  a company  to  improve  the  navigation  of 
Broad  River.  The  company  contracted  with  Abner 
to  do  the  necessary  work.  He  went  on  for  a week  or 
two,  and  quit  upon  finding  that  he  had  made  a losing 
bargain.  The  company  sued  him,  and  recovered  the 
full  amount  of  his  bond. 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


169 


He  removed  from  Broad  River  to  Montgomery, 
Alabama,  where  bis  untiring  industry,  money,  and 
credit,  lias  contributed  most  essentially  to  the  building 
of  the  railroad  to  West  Point.  Though  his  losses 
have  been  very  great,  from  his  liberal  expenditures 
upon  that  important  railroad,  he  has  overcome  them, 
and  is  now  possessed  of  a large  estate. 

His  first  wife  was  Miss  Spencer,  his  first  cousin. 
His  second,  Mrs.  Jane  Johnson,  the  daughter  of  John 
Gilmer.  Plis  third,  Mrs.  Graves. 

William,  the  fifth  sou,  contrary  to  the  cautious 
habits  of  his  family,  entered  upon  the  great  ocean  of 
trade,  and  was  stranded.  He  was  a quiet,  gentlemanly 
man ; married  first  a daughter  of  Col.  Taliaferro,  and, 
after  her  death,  a daughter  of  James  Watkins.  He 
built  and  occupied  the  white  house  on  the  Augusta 
Road,  between  his  father’s  and  the  Goosepond.  He 
afterwards  removed  to  Mississippi. 

Edmund,  the  sixth  son,  was  an  active,  finely  pro- 
portioned man,  very  courteous  and  affable,  very  indus- 
trious, and  of  good  understanding.  His  desire  for 
mental  improvement  was  such,  that  he  agreed  to  pay 
his  father,  out  of  the  property  which  he  should  receive 
from  him  when  he  came  of  age,  twelve  dollars  per 
month  for  the  time  he  went  to  school  more  than  his 
brothers  had  gone.  Though  he  was  very  industrious, 
and  desirous  of  acquiring  riches,  he  was  liberal,  kind- 
hearted,  and  hospitable.  He  fell  in  love  with  and 
married  Miss  Cosby,  an  exceedingly  clever  young  lady, 
but  without  fortune.  He  removed  to  Louisiana.  The 
last  time  I saw  him  was  in  Washington  City,  on  his 
way  to  place  his  daughter  at  Mrs.  Willard’s  school  in 
Troy.  He  is  now  reputed  to  be  worth  near  a million 
of  dollars.  He  has  given  as  much  as  five  thousand 


170 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


dollars  at  a time  to  benevolent  purposes.  President 
Taylor  was  liis  near  neighbor,  and  had  so  great  con- 
fidence in  his  financial  capacity  and  honesty  that  he 
made  him  his  executor. 

Zack,  the  seventh  son,  was  not  in  the  least  bookish. 
When  at  school  he  made  such  slow  progress  in  arith- 
metic that  he  seemed  incapable  of  abstraction.  But 
he  proved  himself  a perfect  adept  at  calculation  when 
it  was  with  sensible  objects.  He  did  addition  and 
multiplication  with  acres  of  land,  negroes,  and  bags  of 
cotton,  with  as  much  certainty,  and  extending  to  as 
large  a quotient,  as  the  most  learned. 

Zack  married  Melinda  Hill,  daughter  of  Miles  Hill, 
and  settled  in  Wilks  County,  near  Mallorysville,  a few 
miles  south  from  Broad  River.  He  afterwards  moved 
to  Upper  Mississippi,  where  he  still  resides.  He  told 
me  the  other  day  that  his  oldest  son,  Miles,  made  last 
year  eleven  hundred  bags  of  cotton.  Few  Herman 
princes  have  incomes  equal  to  the  proceeds  from  eleven 
hundred  bags  of  cotton.  All  the  Broad  River  settlers 
together  did  not  make  as  much  for  many  years  after 
their  arrival  in  Georgia. 

Abram,  the  eighth  son,  was  about  my  own  age. 
At  our  first  common  school  we  had  a contest,  which 
I mention  here,  because  it  shows  the  habits  of  the 
times.  The  school-boys  determined  to  turn  out  Wil- 
liam P.  Culbertson,  the  schoolmaster,  for  a day’s  holi- 
day. They  assembled  early  in  the  morning,  and  barred 
the  entry  into  the  school-house  by  filling  the  door  with 
the  benches  and  other  heavy  things.  The  school-master 
was  then  boarding  with  Abram’s  father.  He  and  all 
his  brothers  took  part  with  him  against  the  boys. 
They  got  to  the  school-house  before  Culbertson,  and 
commenced  threatening  the  boys  inside  with  the  mas- 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


171 


ter’s  hickory.  They  dared  any  boy  inside  to  come  out. 
Those  inside  shoved  me  through  the  opening  cut  in  a 
log  for  lighting  the  writing  bench,  to  accept  Abram’s 
banter.  At  it  we  went.  I made  a missing  blow, 
slipped,  or  somehow  else  got  down  on  the  ground,  and 
Abram  on  me.  His  brothers  surrounded  us,  urging 
Abram  to  give  it  to  me  well.  This  was  too  much  for 
the  boys  inside  to  bear.  They  tore  away  the  fastenings 
from  the  door,  and  rescued  me  from  my  perilous  posi- 
tion, put  me  upon  my  feet,  and  secured  a fair  fight. 
Let  any  one  set  out  when  young,  and  go  straight  for- 
ward, yielding  to  no  obstruction,  and  resisting  all 
temptations  to  turn  aside,  lie  will  have  gone  no  incon- 
siderable distance  by  the  time  he  arrives  at  sixty. 
Abram,  when  a little  boy,  commenced  buying  fish 
hooks  and  pins,  and  selling  them  for  profit.  He  has 
gone  on  unceasingly,  buying  and  selliug  at  a profit, 
until  he  is  reputed  to  be  worth  four  hundred  thousand 
dollars. 

Hugh,  the  ninth  and  youngest  son,  was  mild  and 
amiable.  He  married  the  daughter  of  Shelton  White, 
and  settled  on  the  Elbert  side  of  Broad  River,  a little 
below  Webb’s  Ferry,  where  his  uncle  Gray  had  lived. 
He  has  removed  to  the  upper  part  of  the  State  of 
Mississippi,  where  he  has  become  very  rich,  and  is  re- 
garded by  every  body  as  a very  good  man. 

Betsey,  the  oldest  daughter  of  Micajah  McGehee, 
married  Abram  Hill.  My  brother  Peachy  and  Abram 
Hill,  lived  upon  equal  parts  of  a tract  of  land  which 
had  belonged  to  my  father  and  Micajah  McGehee,  and 
which  they  divided  between  the  son  of  the  one  and 
the  son-in-law  of  the  other.  The  centre  tract  contain- 
ed 2100  acres.  It  had  been  bought  at  a Sheriff  sale. 
Old  Bob  Lumpkin,  his  sons  and  daughters,  got  posses- 


172 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


sion  in  a way  tliat  tliey  could  not  be  removed  but  by 
a possessory  writ.  Old  Bob  was  sued,  and  a recovery 
had  of  him.  He  still  refused  to  leave  the  land.  The 
Sheriff  required  the  services  of  the  posse  comitatus  to 
aid  him  in  giving  possession  to  the  successful  litigants. 
Upon  the  appearance  of  the  Sheriff  and  his  command 
in  great  force,  Old  Bob  and  his  sons  were  forced  to 
quit  the  house.  His  daughters  declared  that  they 
would  themselves  hold  on.  So  the  men  bore  them 
away  on  their  backs. 

My  brother  and  his  family,  and  Mr.  Hill  and  his, 
having  known  each  other  familiarly,  their  neighborly 
intercourse  went  on  for  some  time  in  a very  friendly  way. 
Mrs.  Hill  was  an  exceedingly  nice  woman,  considering 
a speck  of  dirt  upon  her  floor  or  furniture,  a great 
stigma  upon  her  character.  My  brother  was  a voro- 
cious  tobacco  c-hewer.  He  found  Mrs.  Hill  so  much 
annoyed  by  the  stains  he  put  upon  her  floor,  hearth, 
and  very  clean  steps,  that  he  was  compelled  to  go  out 
of  the  house  to  spit.  His  visits  became  short  and  far 
between,  though  he  and  his  liked  their  nice  neighbor 
and  her  husband  very  much. 

Mrs.  Hill  was  exceedingly  prim  and  formal.  She 
had  no  children  for  sixteen  years.  Afterwards  she 
had  two,  now  Dr.  Abram  Hill  and  Mrs.  Blanton  Hill, 
of  Athens. 

Sally,  the  second  daughter  of  Micajah  McGehee, 
was  the  prettiest  woman  on  the  frontiers  of  Georgia, 
according  to  frontier  taste.  Her  eyes  were  large, 
liquidly  bright,  with  long  dark  eyelashes  shading  them 
so  as  to  add  to  their  fascination.  Her  features  were 
regular,  and  her  cheeks  rosy.  Her  person  was  straight 
and  all  the  roundings  of  her  limbs  and  chest  beau- 
tifully perfect.  She  had  just  begun  to  run  all  the 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


173 


young  men  crazy  who  saw  her,  when  she  and  Tom 
Hill  fancied  each  other,  and  married.  After  the  death 
of  Tom  Hill,  she  married  her  brother-indaw  Diony- 
sius Oliver.  They  moved  west,  whither  all  her 
children  by  her  first  marriage  are  gone.  She  had  none 
by  her  last. 

Lucinda,  the  youngest  child  of  Micajah  McGehee, 
married  Dionysius  Oliver,  and  died  a few  years  after. 

The  likenesses  of  the  Broad  Elver  kin  which  I 
have  been  sketching,  would  be  incomplete,  without  the 
one  which  I am  about  to  draw.  Some  may  not  be 
pleased,  at  hanging  side  by  side  with  a poor  body, 
entirely  unknown  to  fame.  But  as  he  was  kind, 
truthful,  and  honest,  and  these  qualities  make  up  the 
largest  portion  of  human  excellence,  I cannot  refuse 
him  a place  among  the  Broad  Biver  people.  I had  an 
affection  for  him  which  he  returned  heartily.  But  to 
satisfy  the  squeamishness  of  others  he  shall  be  name- 
less, though  his  name  and  probably  his  family,  were 
identical  with  one  of  the  Presidents  of  the  United 
States. 

He  was  a soldier  from  the  beginning1  to  the  end  of 
the  revolutionary  war.  He  fought  without  fear,  in 
many  of  its  hardest  battles ; but  was  so  unambitious, 
that  he  never  rose  above  the  rank  and  file  of  the 
army.  During  his  long  citizen’s  life,  he  did  whatever 
was  required  of  him  faithfully,  but  was  so  poke-easy, 
that  he  never  held  any  office  as  high  as  a constable. 

Soon  after  the  peace  permitted  every  body  to 
attend  to  their  own  affairs,  the  soldier  came  across  a 
young  woman  in  the  Bagged  Mountains  of  Amherst 
County,  Virginia,  who  considering  him  a good  match, 
married  him.  He  found  out  when  inquiry  was  useless 
that  she  was  as  lazy  and  thriftless  as  himself.  The 


174 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OE  UPPER,  GEORGIA. 


soldier  and  liis  wife  followed  liis  commanding  officers, 
Gen.  Mathews  and  Col.  Taliaferro,  to  Georgia,  and 
settled  in  tlieir  neighborhood,  near  Broad  River.  He 
had  only  money  enough  to  locate  a warrant  of  survey, 
and  pay  for  the  grant  of  a small  piece  of  poor  land. 
ITe  built  upon  it  a round  log  cabin  of  one  room,  in 
which  he  and  his  wife  lived,  until  it  was  too  small  to 
hold  them  and  their  children.  The  range  and  the 
forest  supplied  them  with  milk  and  meat.  The  soldier, 
his  wife  and  children,  never  had  abundance  of  any 
thing  else,  and  of  these,  only  for  part  of  the  year. 
What  they  had,  was,  however,  always  freely  shared 
with  wanting  neighbors,  and  needy  new  comers. 
Neither  husband  nor  wife  ever  loved  to  work,  though 
they  filled  their  cabin  to  overflowing,  with  their  pro- 
geny. Next  after  idleness,  the  soldier’s  greatest  plea- 
sure was  in  reading.  He  had  no  books.  Mr.  Richard 
Harvie,  who  knew  his  taste  and  integrity,  supplied 
him  with  them,  and  I used,  when  a boy,  to  visit  him 
frequently.  I loved  to  hear  him  talk  of  his  cam- 
paigning under  General  Washington.  He  described 
the  battles  in  which  he  fought,  and  the  stirring  in- 
cidents of  war,  with  such  earnest,  simple  truthfulness, 
that  I often  felt  the  desire  to  have  been  by  his  side. 

The  first  change  for  the  better  in  the  old  soldier’s 
poor  way  of  living,  was  effected  by  his  lazy  wife.  By 
some  happy  hit  of  good  fortune,  or  peculiar  adapted- 
ness to  the  employment,  she  got  the  reputation  of 
skill  in  midwifery.  Her  services  were  so  often  called 
for  by  the  prolific  frontier  women,  that  money  was 
made  by  the  handfull.  After  some  years  of  successful 
practice,  the  old  soldier’s  wife  died.  His  oldest  son, 
when  he  became  of  age  to  act  for  himself,  married  a 
wife  who  belonged  to  the  meanest  family  who  ever  left 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


175 


the  Old  World  for  the  New ; a host  of  whom  had 
removed  from  Virginia  to  Georgia,  and  settled  upon 
every  poor  vacant  piece  of  land  in  the  Broad  River  neigh- 
borhood. As  many  as  ten  of  them  lived  within  the  limits 
of  the  tract  owned  afterwards  by  Col.  Nick  Johnson. 
Most  of  them  would  cheat  for  six  and  a quarter  cents, 
and  sue  each  other  for  a quarter  of  a dollar.  Horse 
swopping  was  their  favorite  trade.  There  was  but  one 
of  them  who  rose  to  greatness  even  in  rascality.  He 
was  called  Gentleman  Will.  One  of  his  sons  was  a 
professional  gambler ; another  was  hung  for  negro  or 
horse  stealing. 

I once  heard  one  of  the  sorry  scamps  of  the  clan, 
bemdnof  a Justice  of  the  Peace  of  the  district  in  which 
they  lived,  for  a warrant  to  arrest  a kinsman,  who  had 
given  him  a kick,  or  cuff.  The  fellow  was  called 
Coony,  from  his  climbing  a tree  after  a coon,  going 
out  on  the  limb  upon  which  the  animal  was,  cutting  it 
off  between  himself  and  the  body  of  the  tree,  falling 
among  the  dogs,  and  being  bitten  for  the  beast. 

The  old  soldier’s  married  son  was  soon  no  better 
than  his  wife’s  kin.  To  save  his  younger  sons  from  the 
influence  of  their  bad  brother  and  his  near  relations, 
the  old  soldier  removed  to  a distant  part  of  the  coun- 
try. They  profited  by  the  change.  One  of  them  is 
now  a Methodist  preacher  of  some  celebrity. 

The  old  soldier  passed  the  remainder  of  his  life  in 
comparative  comfort,  beloved  and  respected  by  every 
one  who  knew  him. 

I desired  to  conclude  the  biographies  of  the  Broad 
River  settlers  by  showing  the  great  amount  of  riches 
which  has  been  accumulated  by  their  extraordinary 
industry,  economy,  and  honesty,  and  the  honors  con- 


176 


FIE  ST  SETTLEBS  OF  UPPEB  GEOBGIA. 


ferred  upon  them  on  account  of  their  patriotism  and 
integrity,  so  that  my  booh  might  do  good,  by  stimu- 
lating others  to  follow  their  example.  It  is  not  known 
that  any  so  small  community  of  planting  people,  ever 
created  so  much  wealth,  and  filled  so  many  offices 
in  so  short  a time.  I endeavored  for  a year  or  two,  to 
ascertain  the  facts  which  would  enable  me  to  give  an 
exact  account  of  what  each  one  was  worth.  I have 
failed,  because  those  whom  I asked  for  information, 
thought  it  would  look  like  bragging  to  answer  my 
questions.  Others,  that  it  might  degrade  them  to  let 
it  be  known  how  little  property  their  Broad  River 
ancestors  brought  with  them  from  Virginia.  I have 
written,  urged,  and  labored,  with  such  slight  success, 
that  I am  obliged  to  be  contented  with  making  the 
following  general  statement. 

The  descendants  of  George  Mathews  are  now 
worth  several  millions  of  dollars,  so  are  the  descend- 
ants of  Frank  Meriwether,  Natt  Barnett,  Micajah 
McGehee,  and  Mrs.  Idarvie.  The  descendants  of 
Nicholas  Johnson  are  supposed  to  be  worth  two  mil- 
lions, those  of  John  Gilmer  about  the  same  amount, 
and  those  of  Thomas  Gilmer  one  million. 

Not  a descendant  of  any  one  of  the  Broad  River 
people  is  now  known  to  be  so  poor,  as  to  be  dependent 
on  others  for  support.  Not  one  has  been  lost  to 
society  by  continued  gambling,  drinking,  or  other 
violations  of  morals  and  law.  One  of  them  has  been  a 
prominent  candidate  for  the  Presidency.  Three  have 
been  Governors  of  States.  Three  have  been  Judges  of 
the  highest  courts.  Two  have  been  Presidents  of  the 
Senate  of  Georgia ; many  of  them  have  been  members 
of  the  Legislature  of  Georgia  and  other  Southern 
States ; and  many  have  been  members  of  the  Congress 
of  the  United  States. 


PART  II. 


In  the  part  of  Wilks  County  below  Long  Creek,  and 
extending  southwardly  from  Savannah  River,  a settle- 
ment was  made  before  and  during  the  revolutionary 
war  by  the  Clarks,  Dooleys,  Murrays,  Waltons,  and 
others.  They  were  from  Bertie  and  the  adjoining 
counties  of  North  Carolina,  and  were  all  connected 
together  by  blood  or  intermarriages.  Gen.  Jackson 
was  their  countryman,  and  Col.  Benton  their  kinsman. 

These  North  Carolina  settlers  lived  upon  game  and 
the  milk  of  the  cattle  which  they  carried  with  them  in 
their  emigration.  Hogs,  sheep,  and  poultry,  were  not 
to  be  had,  except  in  the  fewest  numbers.  A sufficient 
supply  of  these  indispensables  for  a new  country  could 
only  be  obtained  from  South  Carolina,  whither  the 
settlers  went  for  that  purpose  when  they  had  sufficient 
money  to  purchase.  Many  years  passed  before  they 
owned  hogs  and  sheep  enough  for  bacon  and  clothing. 
It  was  hard  times,  when  the  breakfast  of  the  family 
depended  upon  catching  an  opossum  the  over  night  or 
a rabbit  in  the  morning.  The  range  was  so  unrestricted 
that  the  cows  often  wandered  away  beyond  returning 
or  finding,  so  that  the  children  had  no  milk  to  wash 
down  their  otherwise  dry  bread.  The  horses  which 
did  the  ploughing  had  to  be  turned  on  the  wild  grass 
12 


178 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


to  get  their  food.  They  strayed  away  beyond  finding, 
if  their  legs  were  not  fastened  together,  so  that  the 
art  of  hoppling  was  as  important  as  the  blacksmith’s. 
Bells  were  put  upon  them,  for  the  purpose  of  indicating 
their  whereabouts ; and  then  the  Indians,  if  on  the 
frontiers,  carried  them  off.  It  was  difficult  to  clear  of 
its  timber  enough  of  land  for  corn  and  tobacco.  The 
term  patch  was  for  a long  time  used  for  the  land  sown 
in  wheat,  because  only  a very  small  quantity  was 
allotted  for  that  grain.  Even  these  patches  were  not 
seen  for  years  after  the  settlement  began,  so  that  flour 
could  not  be  had  at  times  for  love  or  money.  It  was 
a long  time  before  the  children  had  more  than  a bis- 
cuit  a-piece  on  Sunday  mornings.  Traps,  snares,  pens, 
and  other  contrivances,  were  resorted  to  for  catching 
birds  and  turkeys.  The  end  of  a switch  was  twisted 
in  the  hair  of  a rabbit,  to  draw  him  from  his  refuge  up 
in  a hollow  tree.  Food  was  eaten  then  with  the 
greatest  relish,  which  the  lady  descendants  of  the 
settlers  would  be  horrified  to  see  on  their  tables  now. 
An  opossum,  with  its  full  dish  of  gravy,  occupied  the 
place  of  the  sucking  pig  at  present.  There  were  no 
tanneries  then  to  prepare  leather  for  shoes,  nor  well- 
instructed  shoemakers  to  manufacture  them.  Skins, 
taken  from  the  cattle  killed  for  beef,  and  those  that 
died  with  the  hollow  horn,  were  hung  in  running 
streams  until  the  hair  could  be  slipt  off,  and  then  put 
into  troughs  with  bark  until  they  became  what  was 
called  fit  for  manufacture.  Even  this  hard  material 
could  only  be  had  in  sufficient  quantities  to  allow  shoes 
to  the  children  when  the  frost  and  snow  made  the  cold 
too  severe  for  their  bare  feet  to  bear.  Most  went 
without  shoes  the  greater  part  of  the  year. 

The  first  houses  were  log  cabins,  with  dirt  floors 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA.  J 7 

and  clapboard  coverings.  Vile  toads  and  venomous 
serpents  were  often  found  crawling  over  them,  and 
occasionally  on  the  beds.  Snakes  abounded,  until  the 
increase  of  hogs  lessened  their  number.  The  rattle  of 
the  rattlesnake  and  the  cry  of  a panther  often  sent  the 
children  home  in  a hurry  from  the  woods  when  hunt- 
ing the  cows.  The  sheep  had  to  be  kept  in  inclosures 
about  the  cabins,  or  there  was  no  wool  for  winter  use. 
No  school  gave  to  the  children  an  hour's  play  time. 
After  working  all  day,  they  sat  around  the  hearth  at’ 
night,  picking  the  lint  from  the  cotton  seed,  to  supply 
the  material  for  their  clothing.  There  was  no  fruit  in 
the  country  to  gratify  their  eager  appetites,  except 
wild  grapes,  haws,  and  whortleberries.  The  boys  had 
no  marbles  nor  tops,  until  their  own  labor  added  to 
their  fathers’  means  to  buy  them.  All  work,  little 
play,  no  fruit,  poor  eating,  thin  clothing,  open  houses, 
hard  beds,  and  few  blankets,  made  children  hardy  or 
killed  them.  No  novels,  pianos,  or  idleness  filled  the 
heads  of  the  girls  with  vain  imaginings.  The  singing 
at  the  meeting-houses  of  the  primitive  Baptists  tempted 
but  few  to  attend  for  the  sake  of  the  melody.  The 
great  pleasure  indulged  in  by  the  young  people  was 
dancing  at  night.  The  married  women  sought  recrea- 
tion from  their  six  days’  work  by  visiting  their  neigh- 
bors on  Sunday.  The  men  went  to  musters,  shooting 
matches,  and  horse  races,  on  Saturdays.  Housekeepers 
treated  their  friends  and  their  own  families  to  a pud- 
ding for  dinner  when  company  came,  and  the  man  of 
the  house  drew  forth  his  bottle  of  whiskey.  Many 
a little  fellow  had  a hearty  cry  when  the  last  piece  of 
pudding  disappeared  before  he  got  to  the  table.  The 
pretty  girls,  dressed  in  striped  and  checked  cotton 
cloth,  spun  and  wove  with  their  own  hands,  and  their 


180 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


sweethearts  in  the  sumach  and  walnut  dyed  stuff,  made 
by  their  mothers.  Courting  was  done  when  riding  to 
meetings  on  Sunday,  and  walking  to  the  spring  when 
there.  Newly-married  couples  Avent  to  see  the  old 
folks  on  Saturday,  and  carried  home  on  Sunday  even- 
ings A\diat  could  be  spared  them.  There  was  no  ennui 
among  the  women  for  Avant  of  something  to  do.  If 
there  had  been  leisure  to  read,  there  were  but  few 
books  for  the  indulgence.  Hollow  trees  supplied 
cradles  for  babies.  The  fine  voices  which  are  now 
heard  in  the  pulpit  and  at  the  bar  from  the  first  native 
Georgians  had  its  practice  begun  by  crying,  when 
infants,  for  the  want  of  good  nursing. 

The  preacher  and  the  schoolmaster,  the  first  to 
commence  the  onward  march  of  civilization,  were  very 
slow  in  reaching  outskirt  settlements.  Most  who  did 
were  drunken  Irishmen  or  dissolute  Virginians,  who 
found  the  restraints  of  society  in  the  old  countries  too 
binding  for  their  comfort,  and  therefore  moved  to  the 
new.  Newspapers  were  confined  to  the  select  few.  It 
appears  from  the  record  of  the  Court  of  Ordinary  of 
Wilks  County,  that  five  out  of  sixteen  wills  had  the 
makers’  mark  put  to  them,  instead  of  their  signatures. 
The  proportion  of  those  who  could  not  write  must 
have  been  still  greater  among  those  who  died  intestate. 
In  the  inventories  of  estates  from  1777  to  1783,  the 
first  five  had  only  four  books,  and  they  valued  at  six 
shillings.  The  next  four  had  one  entry  of  books, 
coupled  with  sleighs,  and  both  valued  at  four  shillings. 
In  the  next  three  there  is  but  one  book,  an  old  testa- 
ment. In  the  next  three  there  is  an  entry  of  one  parcel 
of  old  books,  valued  at  five  shillings.  In  the  next 
eight  no  mention  is  made  of  books.  In  the  next  five 
there  is  an  entry  of  a prayer  book.  Then  there  are 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


lbl 


three,  in  which  there  is  one  entry  of  an  old  bible  and 
hymn  book.  The  next  has  an  entry  of  a parcel  of  old 
books,  valued  at  seven  shillings  and  sixpence.  The 
next  thirteen  have  no  entry  of  books.  The  succeeding 
one  has  an  entry  of  a tomahawk,  prayer-book  and  tes- 
tament ; the  next,  of  a bible  ; the  next  six,  one  bible ; 
and  the  next  fourteen  are  without  any  entry  of  books 
at  all. 

The  following  inventories,  given  verbatim  et  liter- 
atim, of  the  property  of  deceased  persons,  show  the 
kind  and  value  owned  by  the  first  settlers  of  Wilks : 


An  Inventory  of  the  Estate  of  Capt.  John  Stwart,  dec’d.,  late  of 
the  States  of  Georgia,  Wilks  County  : 


1 Negro  boy,  Pompey, 

£50 

0 

0 

1 Bead  without  Furniture, 

0 

7 

0 

1 Pail,  1 Pigin  do. 

0 

4 

0 

1 Washing  tub,  2 Keelers, 

0 

4 

0 

1 Sifter,  1 horse, 

24 

0 

0 

1 Bay  Mare,  Proved  away  since,  . 

1 

15 

0 

1 Saddle,  .... 

0 

0 

0 

1 Basor,  2000  acres  of  Land  in  Richmond 

County,  .... 

50 

0 

0 

1 Old  Grey  horse, 

0 

5 

0 

True  Inventory  of  Goods  and  Chatties  of  Andrew  Canndy, 
late  dec’d : 


To  2 feather  Beads,  . . . £700 

To  2 flax  wheels,  . . . 1 10  0 

To  2 Pails  and  Churn,  . . 0 8 0 

To  8 Keelons  and  Pigan  . . 0 4 12 

To  1 Pot,  to  two  howes  and  Culter  Plow,  0 15  0 

To  1 Desk  and  five  Plates,  to  one  horse  Colt,  2 9 0 
To  1 Gray  Mare,  to  one  Cow,  . . 13  0 0 

To  2 Year  old  heepher,  . . 1 10  0 


182 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


Appraisment  of  the  Goods  and  Chatties  of  the  Estate  of  John 
Mackeney,  dec’d,  by  Ruth  Mackaney,  administrator : 


To  Cash  and  Purse, 

To  a Person  Bit,  . 

To  a Rasor, 

To  one  pare  of  Stockens, 

To  one  Close  Bolted  Shirt, 
To  one  old  Coat, 

To  one  wastcoat, 

To  one  Blanket, 

To  one  year  old, 


£0  5 
0 1 
0 1 
0 5 
0 8 
0 1 
0 1 
0 5 
0 5 


Goods  and  Chatties  of  David  McCullone,  dec’d  : 


One  Sorrill  mar  Prased  to 
One  mare  to 
One  horse  to  . 

One  horse  Colt  to 
Six  head  of  Cattle  to  . 

One  Negro  Boy  to 
One  Negro  Girl  to 
One  ax,  Friang  Pan  and  Pothooks, 
One  Linen  -wheel  to 
One  spice  morter  to 
Books  and  Sleis  to 
Cury  Comb,  drawing  knife,  and 
Old  Puter, 

One  buter  tub, 

fore  old  Feather  Beads  to 

One  Pot,  .... 


£60 
1 0 

3 0 

4 0 
6 0 

20  0 
30  0 
0 5 
0 5 
0 5 
0 5 
auger,  0 5 

0 15 
0 2 

5 0 
0 10 


0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 


0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 


When  the  contest  for  independence  commenced, 
the  North  Carolina  settlers  in  Wilks  were  so  far  re- 
moved from  the  scene  of  action,  and  so  ignorant  of  the 
cause  of  the  quarrel,  that  they  took  no  jiart  until  the 
British  troops  extended  their  operations  into  Georgia. 
They  were  then  very  much  divided  in  opinion  as  to 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


183 


which  side  they  should  take.  Following  the  course  of 
their  friends  in  North  Carolina,  so  1 e were  for  the 
country  and  some  for  the  king.  The  united  British 
and  Tory  forces  obliged  the  Whigs  to  retreat  into  the 
adjoining  States.  The  Tories  thus  obtaining  the  ascen- 
dency in  Wilks,  plundered  the  property,  burned  the 
houses,  and  put  to  death  the  women,  children,  and  old 
infirm  men,  who  had  been  left  behind.  The  battle  of 
King’s  Mountain  permitted  the  Whigs  to  return  home 
and  take  ample  vengeance  upon  the  Tories  for  the  in- 
juries which  they  had  done  them.  The  cruelty  of  the 
Tories,  and  retaliation  by  the  Whigs,  may  be  imagined 
by  the  following  facts.  Whilst  the  Tories  were  in  the 
ascendency  they  went  to  the  house  of  Col.  Dooly,  the 
father  of  Judge  Dooly,  found  him  concealed,  and  put 
him  to  death  without  trial  or  resistance.  When  the 
Whigs  got  the  upper  hand,  they  made  nine  Tories 
prisoners.  The  son  of  the  murdered  Dooly,  then  but 
a youth,  sacrificed  the  nine  without  hindrance  from  his 
officers. 

The  records  of  the  Superior  Courts  of  Wilks  show 
what  acts  were  considered  most  criminal,  and  how  im- 
perfectly and  in  what  strange  ways  justice  was  admin- 
istered in  both  civil  and  criminal  cases. 

Until  1785  there  was  no  court-house  or  jail  in 
Wilks  County.  The  court  consisted  of  the  Chief  Jus- 
tice of  the  State  and  five  Assistant  Justices  of  the 
County.  They  held  court  at  some  private  dwelling, 
or  in  some  out-house.  The  jurors,  when  trying  causes, 
left  tke  house  in  which  the  court  was  held  for  some  log 
on  the  neighboring  ground,  where  all  seated  in  a row,  or 
squatted  around  when  earnest  debate  broke  up  the 
row  on  the  log,  they  consulted  eacli  other  in  making  up 
their  verdicts.  Whilst  a jury  was  once  thus  seated  on 


18-1 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


a log,  engaged  in  deliberating  upon  a case,  a man  who 
was  known  to  be  a Tory  came  riding  by.  One  cried 

out,  “ There  goes  a d Tory,  let’s  have  him,”  and 

gave  chase,  which  was  joined  in  by  most  of  his  fellows. 

Prisoners  who  were  in  the  custody  of  the  sheriff 
were  confined  as  means  could  be  found,  Avitli  hickory 
withs,  cords,  and  chains,  occasionally  by  putting  their 
heads  between  the  rails  of  a fence,  and  sometimes  by 
putting  them  into  pens.  Prisoners  who  were  treated 
kindly  escaped,  so  that  most  were  roughly  handled, 
whether  guilty  or  not. 

The  Tories  had  little  chance  for  fair  trials,  if  per- 
mitted to  be  tried  at  all.  Summary  justice  was  usually 
administered  to  them.  They  found  the  end  of  the  laiv, 
when  they  came  within  its  control,  at  the  end  of  a 
rope.  In  f 7 7 0 the  grand  jury  of  Wilks  presented  as 
a grievance  twenty-six  Tories  (naming  them)  for  being 
permitted  to  run  at  large,  and  directed  that  they 
should  be  apprehended  and  brought  to  trial. 

At  a court,  in  1779,  seven  men  were  tried  at  the 
same  time,  for  high  treason  against  the  State,  found 
guilty,  and  hung. 

About  the  same  time,  a man  was  indicted  in  the 
same  bill  for  treason,  horse  stealing,  hog  stealing,  and 
other  misdemeanors. 

An  acquittal  by  a jury  did  not  secure  the  accused 
from  another  trial  for  the  same  offence  upon  the  dis- 
covery of  other  and  better  testimony.  Men  did  not 
then  feel  the  force  of  forms.  They  thought  that  if  it 
were  ascertained  with  certainty  that  a man  was  guilty 
of  a crime  he  ought  to  be  punished,  notwithstanding 
that  the  verdict  of  a jury  had  found  bim  not  guilty, 
for  want  of  testimony  kept  away,  or  which  could  not 
be  had  at  the  time  of  trial. 

Plorse  stealing,  next  after  Toryism,  was  the  offen- 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


185 


sive  crime  of  the  times.  It  was  easily  committed,  the 
temptation  was  great,  and  escape  easy.  Death  followed 
conviction  for  it  with  more  certainty  than  conviction 
for  murder.  Men  had  no  money  to  be  murdered  for. 
Ill-will  usually  vented  itself  by  fighting,  so  that  if 
death  was  the  consequence,  the  crime  was  manslaughter 
or  excusable  homicide. 

A few  years  after  the  revolutionary  war  a horse 
was  stolen  from  Gen.  Elijah  Clark.  He  arrested  some 
trifling  fellow  in  the  neighborhood  as  the  guilty  person, 
and  had  him  charged  with  the  offence  before  the  grand 
jury  at  the  next  Superior  Court.  The  testimony  was 
insufficient  for  finding  a true  bill,  and  the  prisoner  was 
discharged.  Gen.  Clark,  not  doubting  his  guilt,  took 
the  discharged  man  into  his  own  custody,  marched  him 
to  a convenient  place,  followed  by  the  posse  comitatus, 
judge  and  jury,  and  was  about  hanging  him  to  some 
limb,  when  Judge  Pendleton  (the  father  of  the  mem- 
bers of  Congress  of  that  name  from  Virginia  and  Ohio) 
made  so  eloquent  an  address  in  favor  of  law  and  order 
that  he  succeeded  in  doing  by  words  what  he  could  not 
through  the  officers  of  the  court. 

The  following  copy  of  a part  of  the  record  of  the 
proceedings  of  the  County  Court  of  Wilks  gives  some 
details  which  may  be  both  novel  and  amusing  to  the 
people  of  the  present  day : 


April  1 1783 

The  Court  met  agreeable  to  Constitution 


PRESENT 

William  Downs  S.  A.  J. 
Zachariah  Lamar 
Benjamin  Catching 
Absoltjm  Bedell 
Benj.  Thomson 


Assistant  Judges 


186 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


The  following  order  was  sent  by  the  Assistant  Justices  to 
the  Chief  Justice. 

Ordered  that  the  Sherriff  wate  on  his  honor  the  Chief  Jus- 
tice to  know  whether  lie  intends  to  take  his  seat  as  Chief  Jus- 
tice this  Court. 

The  Honourable  Chief  Justice  answered  as  follows. 

To  the  Honourable  the  Assistant  Justices  of  the  County  of 
Wilks. 

The  under  written  having  been  appointed  Chief  Justice  by 
the  Honourable  the  Legislature  of  this  State  intended  to  have 
rode  the  circuit  but  his  honour  the  Governor  and  the  honourable 
the  council  have  seen  cause  to  suspend  him  during  the  present 
sessions  he  does  not  think  himself  enabled  to  act  at  present. 

George  Walton. 

1784 

The  Honourable  Chief  Justice  delivered  the  following:  charge 

O O 

to  the  Grand  Jury. 

Gentlemen  of  the  Grand  Jury. 

Fourteen  or  fifteen  years  ago  I several  times  rode  over  this 
Country  when  it  was  Wilderness  and  nothing  to  be  seen  but  the 
Savage  and  hiS  Game  of  the  Woods,  The  Indian  line  being 
soon  after  mooved  further  out  it  began  to  settle,  and  altho  it 
has  been  Interupted  by  a seven  or  eight  years  war  in  which 
the  first  settlers  greatly  distinguished  themselves,  it  has  in- 
creased in  number  strength  and  cultivation  to  an  astonishing 
degree  this  rapidity  of  settlement  is  an  Incontrovertable  proof 
of  the  Goodness  of  the  climate  the  soil  and  Navigation  as  it 
has  been  in  the  face  of  almost  insuperable  difficulties.  &c.  &c. 

Friday  April  the  first  1785 

The  following  charge  was  delivered  by  his  Honour  the  Chief 
Justice  to  the  Grand  Jury  at  the  opening  of  the  Session. 

Barred  by  unusual  floods  it  was  Impossible  to  execute  my 
Intention  of  a punctual  meating,  but  there  is  yet  sufficient  time 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


187 


I hope  to  administer  private  and  publick  Justice  the  object  of 
the  circuite,  it  is  not  in  my  power  to  dispence  with  the  duty  of 
going  to  Liberty  court,  and  which  being  at  the  distance  of  two 
hundred  and  twenty  miles,  will  compell  me  to  Leave  this  on 
satterday  afternoon  the  Intervel  on  my  part  shall  be  filled  with 
a pointed  and  patient  attention  and  I trust  that  I shall  experi- 
ence a General  disposition  to  expedite  the  business.  Ac.  Ac. 

The  following  presentments  of  the  Grand  J ury  of 
Wilks  County,  describe  the  habits  and  manners  of  the 
people  in  1785 : 

We  also  present  Hezekiah  Wheat  for  profain  swearing  Also 
Stephen  Brooks  for  profain  swearing  also  John  Boggs  for  pro- 
fain  swearing  also  William  Yardiman  for  profain  swearing 
also  Kobert  Jackson  also  Andrew  Frazer  also  Joseph 
Purham  also  Thomas  Morris  also  William  Osborn  also 
Moses  Harris  also  Peter  Carnes  also  C.  Z.  William  Moor 
also  Jefrey  Early  also  William  Thornton  also  Grant  Taylor 
also  Richard  Powell  also  Samuel  Criswell  also  Daniel  Young 
also  Peter  Stubblefield  also  Joseph  Cook  also  James  Stwert 
also  B.  Smith  also  Joseph  Spradling  also  John  Bragg  for 
fighting  and  Gambling  Joseph  Parham  for  Gambling  also 
Grant  Taylor  and  William  Osborne  for  fighting  also  Joseph 
Ryan  for  profane  swearing  Richard  Powell  for  Gambling  also 
James  Williams  for  profane  swearing  Daniel  Young  for  Gam- 
bling and  suffering  it  to  be  done  in  his  house  Peter  Stubble- 
field for  Gambling  Daniel  Terondit  for  suffering;  Gambling;  in  his 
house  also  Owin  Shannon  for  swearing;  and  Gambling'  also 
Thomas  Shannon  Jr.  for  Gambling  also  Fedrick  Lipham  for 
suffering  Gambling  in  his  house  also  the  Magestrates  know- 
ingly  suffer  the  saboth  to  be  Broke  by  Merchants  dealing  and 
negroes  and  others  playing  fives  and  other  vices,  in  particular 
the  Majistrates  about  town  who  see  it  frequently  C.  Z.  Micajah 
Williamson  William  Moor  and  Henry  Mounger  Esquires  also 
that  the  Militia  officers  in  diferant  districts  do  not  keep  up  a 
Patrole,  from  which  the  Inhabitance  suffer  Great  damage  by 
negroes  riding  horses  at  night  and  many  other  Mischevious 
acts  also  that  people  are  suffered  to  Galop  and  run  horses 


188 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


through  the  town  of  Washington  also  that  there  is  never  a fine 
inflicted  upon  officers  and  privates  for  not  obeying  their  orders 
and  for  omiting  their  duties  in  the  town  of  Washington  also 
in  all  other  parts  of  the  county  and  also  that  the  constitution 
as  it  stands  debars  us  from  some  priviledge  easements. 

If  you  speak  of  a libel  in  a crowd  of  old  Georgia 
people  they  suppose  that  you  are  using  a dandy  phrase 
for  lye  bill.  Libel  instead  of  being  a writing  abusive 
of  another,  was  in  old  times  a writing  acknowledging 
that  the  writer  had  told  a lye,  and  was  given  to  him 
whose  character  was  slandered,  and  then  put  upon  the 
records  of  the  court  the  more  certainly  to  do  justice  to 
the  slandered. 

The  following  is  a copy  of  a recorded  lye  bill : 

Georgia,  ) Whereas  on  the  seventh  day  of  Decem- 
Wilks  County,  j her  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  eighty- 
five  in  the  Town  of  Washington  ther  hapened  a Differrence 
between  myself  and  Micajah  Williamson  of  the  said  Town  in 
the  cource  of  said  differance  it  is  said  how  in  the  cource  of  said 
differance  By  Good  Authority  I made  use  of  language  or  words 
very  prejudicial  to  the  Reputation  of  said  Williamson  By  calling 
him  Rogue  and  several  other  unguarded  Expressions  which  I 
am  certain  I should  not  have  done  had  I not  been  much  Intoxi- 
cated both  in  Excess  of  Drinking,  and  spirit  or  heat  of  passion 
and  I do  further  acknowledge  that  I do  not  of  my  own  knowl- 
edge nor  know  that  any  Other  person  knows  any  dishonest  action 
of  said  Williamson,  which  would  authorize  or  induce  me  to  make 
use  of  such  Expressions  and  so  do  agree  to  pay  the  cost  of  a suit 
the  said  Williamson  Entered  against  me  on  the  Occasion,  and  to 
dismiss  and  drop  the  Suit  commenced  against  him  for  assault  and 
Battery  Given  under  my  hand  this  20th  November  1786. 

Andrew  Frazer. 

It  is  agreed  by  the  within  Andrew  Frazer  and  Micajah  Wil- 
liamson that  the  within  Instrument  of  writing  should  be  recorded 
in  court. 


Andrew  Frazer. 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


189 


The  North  Carolina  settlers  had  been  so  stinted  in 
grants  of  land,  whilst  under  the  government  of  Great 
Britain,  that,  when  they  became  undisputed  rulers  to 
do  with  the  land  as  they  pleased,  they  made  amends, 
by  granting  very  largely  to  every  body  who  wanted 
and  would  use  the  means  to  get  it.  To  increase  the 
value  of  what  they  secured  to  themselves,  they  held 
out  inducements,  by  their  legislative  enactments,  to  the 
people  of  other  States  to  settle  among  them. 

The  spirit  of  speculation  became  the  ruling  spirit  of 
the  times.  Soon  after  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution 
of  the  United  States,  most  of  the  States  which  had  un- 
settled territory  conveyed  their  title  to  the  soil  to  the 
General  Government,  for  the  purpose  of  paying  the 
debts  contracted  in  carrying  on  the  war  for  Independ- 
ence. The  State  of  Georgia,  which  had  the  largest  un- 
settled territory  of  any  of  the  States,  refused  to  part 
with  what  had  become  an  object  of  desire  to  each,  one 
of  her  people.  Various  plans  were  formed  for  giving 
every  body  a share  of  this  great  fund  of  public  wealth. 
It  was  found  difficult  to  devise  any  measure  which 
would  satisfy  the  highly  excited  cravings  of  the  people. 
The  King  of  Great  Britain  had  claimed  all  the  un- 
granted land  in  Georgia  to  be  his.  Many  of  the  people, 
when  he  was  conquered  by  their  fighting,  thought  that 
the  land  which  was  his  became  rightfully  theirs. 
When  they  took  the  government  of  the  State  into  their 
own  hands,  they  seemed  to  consider  that  the  chief  pur- 
pose of  legislation  was  to  distribute  the  public  lands 
among  themselves.  They  had  but  slight  comprehen- 
sion of  government,  and  but  little  use  for  that  which 
they  had,  but  as  the  instrument  for  satisfying  their 
desire  for  more  land.  All  the  territory  which  had 
been  acquired  from  the  Indians  by  treaty  was  soon 


100 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


granted  away.  Scliemes  were  then  devised,  for  getting- 
titles  to  the  remainder. 

In  1794,  General  Clark  and  his  special  friends, 
urged  on  by  this  spirit,  took  possession  of  the  fertile 
country  between  the  Oconee  and  Ocmulgee  Rivers,  be- 
fore the  possessory  title  of  the  Indians  had  been  ceded 
to  the  State,  and  without  any  authority  from  the  Legis- 
lature. They  established  a government,  and  built  forts 
for  their  defence.  It  required  the  authority  of  General 
Washington,  then  President  of  the  United  States,  and 
the  energy  of  General  Mathews,  then  Governor  of  the 
State,  to  convince  General  Clark  and  his  adherents 
that  they  could  not  thus  appropriate  what  did  not  be- 
long to  them. 

The  following  extracts  from  the  Public  Documents 
of  the  United  States,  upon  the  subject  of  this  attempt 
of  the  North  Carolina  Wilks  settlers  to  appropriate 
the  public  lands  occupied  by  the  Indians,  and  establish 
an  independent  republic  within  the  territory  of  Georgia, 
are  thought  interesting  enough  to  be  given  here  at  the 
expense  of  some  repetition  : — 

State  House,  Augusta,  19th  August,  1194. 

Sir, — I had  the  pleasure  to  receive  your  communication  of  the 
28th  ultimo  this  day,  and  it  is  with  real  regret  that  I inform  you, 
that  the  information  therein  contained  is,  in  a great  part,  too  true. 
Some  time  in  May,  I learnt  that  settlements  were  making  on  the 
southwest  side  of  the  Oconee.  The  supposition  then  was,  that 
the  adventurers  were  part  of  those  who  had  embarked  in  the 
French  interest,  and  that  in  a short  time  they  would  of  them- 
selves disperse  ; hut.  finding  that  not  to  be  the  case,  and  fearing 
lest  they  might  contemplate  a serious  settlement,  I,  on  the  20th 
of  May,  ordered  General  Irwin  to  direct  the  settlers  immediately 
to  remove.  Soon  after  I was  informed  the  removal  had  taken 
place.  .On  the  14th  of  July  I received  a letter  from  Lieutenant 
Colonel  Gaither,  stating  that  Elijah  Clark,  late  Major  General 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


191 


in  the  Militia  of  this  State,  with  a party  of  men,  had  encamped 
on  the  southwest  side  of  the  Oconee,  opposite  to  Fort  Fidius. 
On  the  24th,  General  Irwin  sent  a couple  of  officers  to  Clark, 
with  orders  for  him  to  move  off  immediately,  which  he  positively 
refused ; and  on  the  28th  I issued  a proclamation,  forbidding 
such  unlawful  proceedings.  I also  wrote  to  one  of  our  Judges 
to  issue  his  warrant,  and  have  Clark  apprehended.  At  the  Su- 
preme Court,  in  Wilks  County,  I am  informed,  he  surrendered 
himself  to  the  Judge,  who,  on  consulting  with  the  Attorney  Gen- 
eral, referred  him  to  some  of  the  justices  of  the  county.  A copy 
of  their  decision  is  herewith  inclosed,  and  from  which,  there  is 
reason  to  conclude,  there  are  too  many  who  think  favorably  of 
the  settlement ; but  I still  flatter  myself  a large  majority  of  the 
citizens  are  opposed  to  such  lawless  acts.  &c.,  &c. 

George  Mathews. 

State  of  Georgia,  Wilks  County: — 

Whereas  a proclamation  was  issued  on  the  28th  day  of  July 
last,  by  his  Excellency  George  Mathews,  Esquire,  Governor  of 
this  State,  stating  that  Elijah  Clark,  Esquire,  late  Maj.  General 
of  the  Militia  of  this  State,  has  gone  over  the  Oconee  River,  with 
an  intent  to  establish  a separate  and  independent  government  on 
the  lands  allotted  for  the  Indians  for  their  hunting  ground,  and 
commanded,  in  the  said  proclamation,  all  judges,  justices,  sheriffs, 
and  other  officers,  and  all  the  other  citizens  of  this  State,  to  be 
diligent  in  aiding  and  assisting  in  apprehending  the  said  Elijah 
Clark,  and  his  adherents,  in  order  that  they  might  severally  be 
brought  to  justice.  And  whereas  the  said  Elijah  Clai’k,  who  is 
the  object  of  the  said  proclamation,  hath  this  day  personally  ap- 
peared before  us,  the  undersigned,  Justices  of  the  Peace  for  the 
County  of  Wilks,  and  surrendered  himself  into  custody,  and  it 
being  our  duty  to  do  speedy  justice  to  the  said  State,  as  well  as 
the  party  charged,  we  proceeded  to  the  most  mature  considera- 
tion of  the  cause,  and,  after  an  examination  of  the  laws  of  the 
State,  and  the  treaties  made,  and  the  laws  passed  by  the  United 
States,  do  give  it  as  our  decided  and  unanimous  opinion,  that  said 
Elijah  Clark  be,  and  is  hereby,  discharged. 

R.  Woosh  am,  J.  P. 

R.  Christmas,  J.  P. 

G.  Wooldridge,  J.  P. 

William  Bell,  J.  P. 


FIRST  SETTLE  I' S OF  UPPER,  GEORGIA. 


i;>2 


Fort  Advance,  5th  Sept.,  l^L 

Gentlemen, — Your  favor  of  the  3d  instant  is  now  before 
me.  Accept  my  thanks  for  your  information  and  attention  to 
what  may,  if  ever  neglected  so  materially,  injure  our  enterprise. 
I consider  myself  honored  by  the  unanimous  voice  of  all  the  offi- 
cers belonging  to  the  different  garrisons.  I shall  always  endea- 
vor to  acquit  myself  worthy  of  the  command  committed  to  my 
charge.  The  information  you  have  received  agrees  with  mine 
from  Augusta.  The  artillery  of  Augusta  are  ordered  to  be  in 
readiness  to  march  in  eight  or  ten  days,  and  one  third  of  the 
militia  are  directed  to  be  draughted.  It  has  been  tried  in  Burk 
and  Richmond  Counties,  but  quite  unsuccessful : the  troops  de- 
clare that  they  will  not  fight  against  us.  I am  happy  to  find 
the  disposition  of  the  people  with  you  so  exactly  agrees  with  my 
own  friends  here  ; I believe  it  to  be  the  general  disposition  of 
every  garrison.  I am  determinately  fixed  to  risk  every  thing 
with  my  life  upon  the  issue,  and  for  the  success  of  the  enterprise. 
You  will  apply  to  the  inclosed  orders  how  to  conduct  yourselves 
with  inimical  individuals.  In  case  of  a body  appearing,  you  will 
give  me  the  earliest  information.  If  you  are  summoned  to  sur- 
render in  the  garrison,  you  must  refuse  with  a firmness  ever  ac- 
companying the  brave.  Inform  those  who  apply,  that  if  you 
have  done  wrong,  and  the  grand  jury  of  the  county  have  cogni- 
sance of  your  crime,  you  will  cheerfully  submit  to  be  tried  by  a 
jury  of  your  fellow-citizens.  But  you  will  consider  any  orders 
from  the  Secretary  of  War  as  unconstitutional.  The  Governor’s 
proclamation,  as  determined  in  Wilks,  illegal,  Ac.,  Ac. 

Yours,  Ac. 

E.  Clark. 

Sir, — I have  the  pleasure  to  inform  you,  that  the  post  oppo- 
site to  us,  on  the  south  side  of  the  Oconee,  has  been  taken  and 
destroyed  by  the  militia,  and  that  Clark  and  his  adherents  have 
been  removed. 

Soon  after  the  Governor’s  proclamation  was  issued  against 
General  Clark,  he  delivered  himself  up  to  the  Superior  Court  of 
the  County  of  Wilks,  who  dismissed  him,  because  it  was  their 
opinion  that  he  had  not  violated  the  laws  of  the  State.  This 
decision  greatly  encouraged  his  party,  and  the  settlements  were 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


193 


pushed  with  vigor.  The  measure  had  also  become  very  popular, 
and  it  was  believed  by  him  and  his  adherents  that  the  militia  would 
never  march  against  him.  Under  these  flattering  circumstances, 
his  works  were  completed,  houses  were  erected  within  his  forts,  a 
town  was  laid  off  at  Fold  Advance  (the  post  opposite  to  us),  Glen. 
Clark  was  chosen  Major  General,  and  placed  at  the  head  of  the 
enterprise  ; the  members  were  elected  for  the  general  committee, 
or  committee  of  safety,  and  every  thing  bore  the  appearance  of  a 
permanent  settlement,  Ac.,  Ac. 

I have  the  honor  to  he,  Ac.,  Ac. 

Constant  Freeman. 

Extract  from  Judge  Walton’s  charge  to  the  Grand 
Jury  of  Richmond  County 

Should  the  spirit  which  generated  the  plan  of  this  new  settle- 
ment still  urge  its  pursuit,  what  mischiefs  may  it  not  produce  to 
the  community.  A young  country,  scarcely  recovered  from  for- 
mer ravages,  but  with  means  of  progressive  amplification  and 
aggrandizement,  to  he  involved  in  a civil  war,  with  all  the  evils 
incident  to  it,  will  have  the  effect  of  arresting  its  progress,  and 
putting  it  back  of  any  present  calculation. 

It  is  already  known  that  the  President  of  the  United  States 
has  directed,  in  the  event  of  other  means  failing,  that  the  settle- 
ment should  be  suppressed  by  military  coercion.  And  shall  the 
blood  of  citizens  he  spilled  to  support  the  pretensions  of  a small 
part  of  the  people, — pretensions  without  law,  and  resting  not  on 
the  foundations  of  justice  ? But,  it  is  said,  they  have  expatri- 
ated themselves.  This  is  neither  fact,  nor  capable  of  being  made 
so.  The  district,  the  object  of  their  contemplation,  is  still  Geor- 
gia ; and  they  must  be  either  citizens  or  insurgents.  Would 
that  these  new  settlers  might  attend  to  the  voice  of  reason,  of 
benevolence,  and  moderation,  before  they  plunge  themselves  and 
their  country  in  distress  and  trouble.  A little  time  will  extend 
our  limits,  and  we  shall  then  be  all  upon  a footing. 

But  suppose  that  the  State,  from  the  recollection  of  the  past 
services  of  the  principal  in  this  adventure,  and  a tender  regard 
to  his  adherents  (the  United  States  out  of  view  for  the  moment), 
13 


194 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


should  be  disposed  to  wink  at  the  establishment  of  this  intended 
settlement,  is  the  extent  of  the  precedent  perceived  ? The  rich- 
est jewel  the  State  of  Georgia  possesses,  and  the  real  basis  of 
her  future  wealth  and  rank  in  the  Union,  is  her  western  territory; 
and  if  one  set  of  men  should  be  permitted  to  take  possession,  and 
keep  a part  of  it,  without  the  consent  of  her  government,  will  it 
not  he  an  example  of  right  for  any  other  set  of  men  to  do  the 
same  with  any  other  part  or  with  the  whole  of  it  ? 

Hence,  I conclude,  that,  if  General  Clark  has  the  same  regard 
for  the  State  he  has  heretofore  given  so  many  proofs  of,  he  will 
desist  from  an  enterprise  so  pregnant  with  evils  to  her.  It  is 
not  to  he  wished  that  the  Federal  Government  should  have  occa- 
sion to  exert  its  power  upon  any  such  occasion.  It  might  one 
"day  give  color  to  pretensions  not  consonant  with  the  interest  of 
•the  State.  There  ought  to  exist  no  fears  at  present ; hut  who 
vcan  keep  pace  with  the  progress  of  time  and  of  revolution. 

The  failure  of  General  Clark  and  the  North  Caro- 
lina Wilks  settlers,  did  not  put  an  end  to  the  trial  of 
-■©tilers  having  similar  objects  in  view.  An  extensive 
secret  association  was  soon  after  formed,  called  the 
Combined  Society,  whose  members  took  an  oath  to 
elect,  if  they  could,  a Governor  and  members  of  the 
Legislature,  who  would  dispose  of  the  public  land  for 
their  special  benefit.  One  of  its  most  active  members 
was  detected  in  his  operations  for  success,  stripped,  tied 
“to  a tree,  and  whipped  without  mercy.  The  existence 
and  objects  of  the  society  becoming  thus  noised  abroad, 
the  people  succeeded  in  electing  a Governor  and  a ma- 
jority of  the  members  of  the  Legislature  pledged  to 
oppose  them.  They  relied  with  confidence  upon  the 
interposition  of  the  Governor’s  veto,  should  the  specula- 
tors succeed  in  influencing  a majority  of  the  Legislature. 
The  Governor  elected  had  been  in  office  before,  and 
vetoed  an  act  passed  by  the  Legislature  for  disposing 
of  the  public  lands  for  the  following  reasons 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


195 


1st.  I doubt  whether  the  proper  time  has  arrived  for  dispos- 
ing of  the  territory  in  question. 

2d.  If  it  was  the  proper  time,  the  sum  offered  is  inadequate 
to  the  value  of  the  land. 

3d.  The  quantity  reserved  for  the  citizens  is  too  small  in 
proportion  to  the  extent  of  the  purchase. 

4th.  That  greater  advantages  are  secured  to  the  purchasers 
than  the  citizens. 

5th.  That  so  large  an  extent  of  territory  being  disposed  of 
to  companies  of  individuals  will  operate  as  monopolies,  which 
will  prevent  or  retard  settlements,  population,  and  agriculture. 

6th.  That  if  public  notice  was  given  that  the  land  was  for 
sale,  the  rivalship  in  purchasers  would  most  probably  have  in- 
creased the  sums  offered. 

7th.  The  power  given  to  the  Executive  by  the  constitution, 
the  duty  I owe  the  community,  and  the  sacredness  of  my  oath 
of  office,  will,  I flatter  myself,  justify  this  dissent  in  the  minds  of 
the  members  of  the  Legislature,  and  of  my  other  fellow-citizens. 


The  speculators  made  many  members  of  the  Legis- 
lature and  two  of  the  Governor’s  sons  members  of  their 
companies.  This  corrupt  act  passed,  and  was  signed 
by  the  Governor. 

Whilst  the  bill  was  on  its  passage,  the  bribery  em- 
ployed was  made  known  to  the  people.  Companies  of 
men  were  embodying,  and  some  on  their  way  to  the 
seat  of  government  to  disperse  the  members  of  the 
Legislature  when  they  adjourned. 

The  constituents  of  one  who  was  bribed,  were  ex- 
cited to  so  great  ferment  that  he  became  alarmed  and 
fled  into  South  Carolina.  He  was  followed  by  an  en- 
raged county  man,  found  sitting  alone  in  a cabin  at 
night,  and  shot  dead.  The  sight  of  his  death  struggles 
arrested  the  strong  current  of  indignant  feelings  which 
had  led  to  the  act.  The  avenger  became  the  misera- 
ble sinner.  He  returned  home,  shut  himself  up  in  a 


196 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


dark  room  from  intercourse  with  the  world  for  eigh- 
teen  years,  begging  as  if  for  liis  own  life,  that  God 
would  pardon  him  for  taking  the  life  of  another. 

On  the  morning  of  the  day  of  the  first  general 
meeting  of  the  people  of  Oglethorpe  after  the  passage 
of  the  Yazoo  Act,  a citizen  who  lived  on  the  other  side 
of  the  Crabtree,  stopped  at  the  gate  whilst  Miles  Jin- 
nings  made  ready  to  accompany  him  to  town.  Old 
Jinnings  put  a rope  in  his  pocket.  Upon  being  asked 
by  his  companion  what  he  intended  to  do  with  the 
rope,  he  replied,  “ Hang  Musgrove  ! 51  When  they 
arrived  at  the  court-house  from  their  distant  part  of 
the  county,  all  the  people  had  assembled.  Miles  Jin- 
nings hitched  his  horse,  went  into  the  crowd,  pulled 
from  his  pocket  the  rope,  and  holding  it  up  at  arm’s 
length,  cried  out,  “ Neighbors,  this  rope  is  to  hang 
Musgrove,  who  sold  the  people’s  land  for  a bribe.” 
The  lashing  of  the  surge  upon  the  shore  when  the 
ocean  is  driven  by  the  most  furious  storm,  was  not 
louder  than  the  noise  of  the  people  excited  into  tumult 
by  old  Jinnings’s  words  and  the  sight  of  the  elevated 
rope.  No  human  power  could  have  saved  Musgrove 
from  hanging  if  old  Jinnings’s  neighbor  had  not  given 
him  notice  to  make  his  escape. 

The  Governor,  after  the  expiration  of  his  term  of 
office,  was  never  again  trusted  by  the  State.  His  son- 
in-law,  who  voted  against  the  act,  was  £o  suspected  of 
favoring  its  passage,  that  he  was  unable  to  stand  up 
against  the  popular  clamor,  and  left  the  State  never  to 
return  to  it. 

At  the  session  of  the  Legislature  subsequent  to  the 
Yazoo  fraud  (as  the  act  of  sale  to  the  speculators  was 
called),  the  people’s  party  was  in  power  without  oppo- 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA.  197 

sition.  The  Legislature  made  the  following  declara- 
tion in  the  form  of  law  : 

Be  it  therefore  enacted , That  the  said  Act,  passed  on  the 
seventh  day  of  January,  in  the  year  one  thousand  seven  hundred 
and  ninety-five,  be,  and  the  same  is  hereby  declared,  null  and 
void,  and  the  grant  or  grants,  right  or  rights,  claim  or  claims, 
issuing,  deduced,  or  derived  therefrom,  or  from  any  clause,  letter, 
or  spirit  of  the  same,  or  any  part  of  the  same,  is  hereby  also  an- 
nulled, rendered  void,  and  of  no  effect ; and  as  the  same  was 
made  without  constitutional  authority,  and  fraudulently  obtained, 
it  is  hereby  declared  of  no  binding  force  or  effect  on  this  State 
or  people  hereafter,  but  is,  and  are  to  be  considered,  both  law 
and  grants,  as  they  ought  to  be,  ipso  facto  of  themselves,  void, 
and  the  territory  therein  mentioned  is  also  hereby  declared  to 
be  the  sole  property  of  the  State,  subject  only  to  the  right  of 
treaty  of  the  United  States  to  enable  the  State  to  purchase, 
under  its  pre-emption  right,  the  Indian  title  to  the  same. 

And  be  it  further  enacted , That  within  three  days  after  the 
passage  of  this  Act,  the  different  branches  of  the  Legislature 
shall  assemble  together,  at  which  meeting  the  officers  shall 
attend  with  the  several  records,  documents,  and  deeds  in  the 
Secretary’s,  Surveyor-General’s,  and  other  public  otfices,  and 
vThich  records  and  documents  shall  then  and  there  be  ex- 
punged from  the  face  and  indexes  of  the  books  of  record  of  the 
State,  and  the  enrolled  law,  or  usurped  Act,  shall  then  be  pub- 
licly burnt,  in  order  that  no  trace  of  so  unconstitutional,  vile, 
and  fraudulent  a transaction,  other  than  the  infamy  attached  to 
it  by  this  law,  shall  remain  in  the  public  oifices  thereof. 

All  the  documentary  evidences  of  the  act  of  sale 
were  accordingly  burnt.  The  consuming  flames  were 
kindled  by  drawing  fire  from  the  sun,  so  as  to  make 
heaven  aid  in  the  purifying  sacrifice. 


198 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


ELIJ.AH  CLARK. 

The  struggle  between  liberty  and  loyalty  bad  gone 
on  for  some  time,  and  tlie  States  declared  their  inde- 
pendence of  Great  Britain  before  much  more  was  un- 
derstood about  the  cause  of  the  contest  by  the  North 
Carolina  settlers  in  Wilks  than  what  was  learned  from 
passing  rumor.  When  the  British  troops  marched 
into  Upper  Georgia  and  required  the  people  to  submit 
to  the  power  that  would  tax  them,  Elijah  Clark  felt 
that  his  forte  was  fighting.  His  bold,  fearless  spirit 
made  him  at  once  the  chief  of  those  who  felt  like  him. 

When  Col.  Boyd,  the  leader  of  the  North  Carolina 
tories  retreated  into  Georgia,  Elijah  Clark,  at  the  head 
of  the  Georgia  whigs,  and  Col.  Pickens,  with  the 
whigs  of  South  Carolina,  pursued  and  overtook  him 
at  Kettle  Creek,  in  Wilks,  where  they  drubbed  him 
and  many  of  his  followers  to  death,  and  dispersed 
most  of  the  remainder. 

Shortly  after  the  British  troops  and  tories  united 
in  such  strength  that  Elijah  Clark  could  not  meet  them 
in  the  field.  With  the  tact  of  the  successful  partisan, 
he  got  out  of  the  way,  that  he  might  fight  more  ad- 
vantageously another  day.  He  fled  to  the  mountains, 
taking  wdtli  him  most  of  the  whig  old  men,  women, 
and  children,  to  secure  them  from  the  cruelties  of  the 
poor  tory  scamps,  who  thought  that  the  best  way  of 
serving  their  king  was  to  put  to  death  those  who  re- 
fused to  swear  allegiance  to  him.  Placing  his  non-com- 
batants  in  security,  he  marched  at  the  head  of  the 
fighters  wherever  the  enemy  were  to  be  found.  He 
had  no  pretensions  to  be  the  great  general  who,  standing 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


199 


aloof  from  danger,  directs  and  conquers  by  the  skill  of 
his  manoeuvres.  He  led  in  the  fight,  and  ordered  his 
men  to  follow  him.  He  was  present,  if  he  could  be, 
wherever  fighting  was  to  be  done,  until  liberty  was 
won. 

When  the  independence  of  the  States  was  acknow- 
ledged, and  the  people  of  the  other  States  enjoyed 
peace,  there  was  no  peace  for  the  people  of  Georgia. 
The  tories  fled  among  the  neighboring  Indian  tribes, 
and  excited  their  warriors  to  plunder  and  murder  the 
frontier  people,  until  Elijah  Clark,  aided  by  his  son 
Jack,  frightened  them  away  by  the  great  victory  which 
he. obtained  over  them  at  Jack’s  Creek. 

Elijah  Clark  had  but  little  scholastic  learning,  nor 
had  he  been  very  accurately  taught  in  early  youth  the 
distinction  between  right  and  wrong,  or  the  lessons 
afterwards  slipt  from  his  memory.  lie  was  very  poor 
when  he  took  to  soldiering.  He  was  better  off  when 
the  war  was  ended.  He  thought,  as  many  great  men 
have  done,  that  those  who  fight  against  their  coun- 
try forfeit  both  life  and  property.  He  showed  his 
faith  in  his  doctrine  by  letting  tory  prisoners  live  by 
their  letting  him  have  what  they  had.  He  reversed 
the  law  of  kings,  that  the  people  and  their  property 
are  theirs,  by  his  verdict,  that  what  was  claimed  by 
the  king  should  belong  to  the  people.  King  George, 
whilst  Georgia  was  a colony,  granted  his  lands  so  stint- 
ingly  to  his  subjects,  that  when  they  became  freemen 
and  the  State  under  their  government,  they  made 
amends  to  themselves  by  granting  to  every  one  land 
for  little  or  nothing.  The  appetite  for  riches  grows 
upon  what  it  feeds  on.  Elijah  Clark,  and  the  other 
North  Carolina  settlers  in  Wilks,  failing  to  get  enough 
to  satisfy  their  voracity,  took  possession  of  the  fertile 


200 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


territory  between  the  Oconee  and  Ocmulgee  Rivers, 
without  regard  to  the  occupant  rights  of  the  Indians, 
established  a republic,  made  Elijah  Clark  their  chief 
ruler,  and  were  preparing  to  parcel  out  the  lands,  when 
the  militia,  ordered  into  service  by  Governor  Mathews, 
and  the  regular  troops  by  President  Washington, 
drove  them  off. 

Elijah  Clark  had  three  sons;  John,  the  general,  and 
Elijah  and  Gibson,  the  lawyers ; and  three  daughters, 

Mrs. Thomson,  Mrs.  Josiah  Walton,  and  Mrs. 

Benajah  Smith.  One  of  the  daughters  of  Mrs.  Smith 
married  Eldrid  Simpkins,  a respectable  lawyer  of  South 
Carolina.  Miss  Simpkins  married  the  Hon.  Francis 
Pickens,  the  grandson  of  Gen.  Pickens,  Elijah  Clark’s 
old  associate  in  arms. 

Elijah  Clark’s  residence  was  several  miles  north- 
west of  Washington,  between  the  roads  leading1  from 

0 7 O 

Broad  River  and  the  Cherokee  Corner  to  Augusta. 

O 


JOHN  CLARK. 

John  Clark,  the  oldest  son  of  Elijah  Clark,  was  a 
lad  when  his  father  removed  with  his  family  from 
North  Carolina  to  Wilks,  Georgia.  There  were  no 
high  schools,  academies,  or  colleges  in  Wilks  during 
John’s  youth,  and  if  there  had  been,  it  is  not  probable 
that  he  would  have  received  much  advantage  from 
them.  All  the  learning  which  he  ever  acquired  was 
reading,  writing,  and  ciphering  in  a small  way.  His 
early  youth  was  passed  in  his  father’s  camp,  during  the 
plundering,  murdering  warfare  between  the  whigs  and 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


201 


tories.  Though  but  a boy,  he  did  the  service  of  the 
best  soldier  at  the  battle  of  Kettle  Creek.  When 
fighting  ceased,  his  camp  habits  received  but  little  im- 
provement from  the  association  with  the  riotous  North 
Carolina  settlers.  He  acquired  no  profession,  followed 
no  trade,  and  never  labored  in  the  field.  His  time 
was  passed  in  rowdying.  He  knew  no  fear,  and  never 
learned  from  his  fighting  with  the  tories  to  give  quar- 
ter to  his  enemies.  In  his  brawls  he  used  knives  and 
guns  without  regard  to  consequences.  He  once  shot 
so  carelessly  at  some  one  in  the  streets  of  Washington, 
with  whom  he  was  quarrelling,  that  the  load  took 
effect  upon  a poor  woman,  and  wounded  her  so  badly 
that  she  was  for  a lono;  time  disabled  from  clotl ling 
her  children.  His  drunken,  restless  ways  kept  him 
perpetually  in  mischief.  As  long  as  the  Indians  con- 
tinued to  make  inroads  into  the  frontiers,  he  was  ever 
ready  for  the  foray.  At  the  battle  of  Jack’s  Creek 
between  the  frontier  Georgians  and  the  Creek  Indians, 
he  was  the  conquering  officer,  though  not  the  chief  in 
command.  The  reputation  which  he  acquired  by  the 
battles  of  Kettle  Creek  and  Jack’s  Creek,  made  him 
feel  that  he  was  the  cock  of  the  walk  wherever  he 
stalked,  and  he  was  sure  to  show  it  if  any  crowing  was 
done  in  his  presence.  Most  persons  yielded  without 
resistance  to  what  he  demanded  authoritatively  or 
claimed  pertinaciously.  Every  associate  Avas  obliged 
to  be  for  or  against  him.  He  suffered  no  one  of  any 
consequence  to  occupy  middle  ground.  He  had  the 
temper  of  the  clansman.  He  defended  his  friends, 
right  or  wrong,  and  expected  the  same  fidelity  to  him- 
self. He  patted  eAmry  young  man  on  the  back  whom 
he  wished  to  make  his  adherent.  If  he  showed  him- 
self offish,  he  proved  himself  his  enemy.  Whatever 


202 


FIBST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


his  hands  found  to  do  lie  did  with  his  might,  and 
would  have  been  the  best  of  men  if  his  evil  inclina- 
tions had  not  got  the  better  pf  his  good.  He  and  his 
father  took  part  in  the  Yazoo  sale,  from  some  vague 
notion  that  the  conquerors  were  entitled  to  share 
among  them  what  had  belonged  to  the  conquered. 
The  State  became  divided  into  factions  called  the  Ya- 
zoo and  anti- Yazoo  parties.  John  Clark  was  then  too 
young  and  too  little  interested  in  these  speculations 
to  be  the  leader  of  his  party.  He  was,  however,  one 
of  its  most  efficient  members.  He  backed  Col.  Willis 
when  he  challenged  Judge  Taliaferro  to  fight  a duel. 
He  belonged  to  the  clique  who  put  forward  Van  Al- 
len to  drive  William  H.  Crawford  from  the  bar.  He 
waylaid  Judge  Tait  whilst  he  was  travelling  his  circuit 
in  the  discharge  of  his  official  duties,  horsewhipped 
him,  and  whipped  his  horse  at  the  same  time,  so  that 
he  could  not  jump  from  his  carriage  and  defend  him- 
self, having  a wooden  leg.  He  committed  this  outra- 
geous act  of  war  upon  society  because  an  affidavit  had 
been  taken  before  Judge  Tait  charging  him  with  some 
offence.  He  challenged  Mr.  Crawford  because  he  was 
the  friend  of  Judge  Tait.  In  the  fight  which  followed 
he  shot  Mr.  Crawford  through  the  wrist.  Not  satisfied 

O 

because  he  had  not  killed  him,  he  sent  another  chal- 
lenge, though  they  had  had  no  quarrel.  When  Mr. 
Crawford’s  prospects  for  the  presidency  began  to  look 
like  success,  he  attempted  to  mar  them  by  publishing  a 
defamatory  pamphlet,  which  he  circulated  far  and  wide. 
He  felt  that  Mr.  Crawford  and  his  friends  had  thwart- 
ed his  ambitious  designs,  and  never  ceased  struggling 
for  revenge.  He  was  always  in  want  of  money ; ever 
spending,  and  but  seldom  making.  Upon  the  plea  of 
his  public  services,  the  Legislature  relinquished  five 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


203 


thousand  dollars  due  from  him  to  tlie  State  for  public 
lands  bought  by  him  at  much  less  than  their  real  value. 
He  was  jealous  of  the  influence  of  Franklin  College. 
He  felt  the  want  of  learning,  and  knew  that  the  trus- 
tees were  beyond  his  control.  Mr.  Crawford  was  a 
very  influential  trustee,  and  never  failed  attending  the 
board  when  he  could.  Athens  was  for  a long  time, 
during  the  college  commencements,  the  great  assem- 
bling place  of  the  ambitious  politicians  of  the  State. 
Gen.  Clark  could  not  therefore  keep  away,  though 
very  few  of  the  literati  were  of  his  party.  In  1822 
both  he  and  William  H.  Crawford  attended.  He  was 
then  Governor,  and  Mr.  Crawford  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury.  Dr.  Waddell,  the  president  of  the  college, 
had  been  Mr.  Crawford’s  preceptor,  and  was  very 
proud  of  his  scholar.  In  the  procession  of  the  college 
officers,  trustees,  and  students,  through  the  campus  to 
their  places  in  the  chapel,  Mr.  Crawford,  at  the  request 
of  the  president,  walked  on  his  right  hand  and  Gover- 
nor Clark  on  his  left.  This  appearance  before  the 
great  crowd  assembled  to  witness  the  college  exercises 
in  an  inferior  position  to  Mr.  Crawford,  made  Clark, 
harassed  as  he  then  was  from  other  causes,  feel  as  if 
he  would  burst  with  rage.  A vile  practice  was  just 
then  in  vogue  of  sending  slanderous  anonymous  letters, 
called  buckets,  to  those  whom  the  writers  wished  to 
annoy.  Soon  after  Gen.  Clark  arrived  in  Athens,  his 
known  hostility  to  the  college  induced  some  of  the 
mischief-makers  of  the  place  to  send  him  a number  of 
these  buckets.  Enraged  at  their  contents,  and  sus- 
pecting that  their  authors  were  college  students,  he 
laid  them  before  the  Board  of  Trustees,  with  the  re- 
quest that  the  delinquents  should  be  ferreted  out  and 
punished.  Mr.  Crawford  was  present  when  the  letters 


20t 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


were  received,  and  called  for  their  reading.  He  en- 
joyed their  satire  greatly,  and  continued  for  a long 
time  after  to  repeat  the  expressions  which  were  most 
irritating  to  Clark. 

Soon  after  I went  to  Lexington  to  reside,  General 
Clark  and  his  daughter  Nancy  stopped  at  a public 
house  in  the  village.  Miss  Nancy  was  a charming 
young  lady.  She  and  my  youngest  sister  had  been  a 
short  time  before  at  school  together  in  Raleigh,  where 
I had  met  with  her.  Being  then  a bachelor,  I went  to 
see  her.  Upon  asking  for  Miss  Clark,  her  father  made 
his  appearance.  After  a few  moments’  conversation, 
he  directed  a servant  to  carry  a candle  to  his  room, 
and  asked  me  to  follow  him.  Upon  being  seated,  he 
commenced  talking  about  the  introduction  of  negroes 
from  Africa  into  the  State  in  violation  of  the  laws,  an 
instance  of  which  was  then  exciting  public  attention. 
He  charged  Gen.  Mitchel,  the  Creek  Agent  at  Fort 
Hawkins,  with  being  concerned  in  the  traffic.  I told 
him  unhesitatingly  that  I had  no  doubt  about  the 
impropriety  of  Mitchel’s  conduct.  Pleased  that  my 
answer  accorded  so  well  with  his  wishes,  he  went  on  to 
say  that  a man  high  in  office  at  Washington  City  was 
also  implicated  in  the  guilt,  alluding  very  plainly  to 
Mr.  Crawford.  I answered  that  I did  not  believe  it. 
This  prompt  reply  caused  silence  for  a moment.  Per- 
ceiving that  I had  offended,  I rose,  bowed,  and  left  the 
room.  It  was  the  only  tete-a-tete  I ever  had  with 
Gen.  Clark.  He  never  forgot  it,  and  to  do  me  what- 
ever injury  he  could. 

General  John  Scott  was  the  special  friend  of  Gen. 
Clark.  He  found  him  one  day  in  Milledgeville,  pre- 
paring himself,  by  getting  drunk,  for  abusing  or  doing 
some  violence  to  his  enemy,  Gen.  Mitchel,  who  was 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


205 


then  Governor  of  tire  State.  To  prevent  the  execution 
of  his  purpose,  Gen.  Scott  endeavored  to  draw  him 
away  by  inviting  him  to  dinner.  Gen.  Scott  lived  two 
or  three  miles  out  of  town.  Clark  insisted  that  he 
should  go  on  home,  promising  that  he  would  follow 
soon  Scott,  knowing  that  it  would  be  useless  to 
attempt  to  control  him,  and  that  he  would  only  incur 
his  displeasure  by  offering  to  do  so,  went  home.  He 
delayed  dinner  until  night.  Apprehending  that  Clark 
might  have  become  so  drunk  as  to  have  lost  his  way, 
or  suffered  some  other  mishap,  he  went  in  search  of 
him,  accompanied  by  many  of  his  negroes,  with  torches. 
He  found  him  asleep  upon  a log  which  projected  over 
a precipice,  where  a turn  the  wrong  way  would  have 
precipitated  him  below,  and  probably  killed  him — the 
recklessness  of  his  temper  and  his  desire  to  fight  Mitchel 
having  put  him  into  the  humor  to  hunt  for  danger. 

In  the  war  of  1812  with  Great  Britain,  Gen.  Clark 
wms  appointed  by  Gov.  Early  to  command  the  Georgia 
militia. 

After  long  seeking  for  high  political  distinction,  he 
was  at  last  gratified  by  being  elected  Governor.  The 
people  thought  that  the  man  who  had  fought  for  the 
country  in  youth  and  in  manhood,  and  whose  father 
had  done  capital  service  in  securing  the  independence 
of  the  States,  was  entitled  to  this  evidence  of  their 
gratitude.  They,  would  have  been  undoubtedly  right 
if  Gen.  Clark  had  given  sufficient  proofs  that  he  would 
be  the  Governor  of  the  State  instead  of  the  head  of  a 
party.  After  being  elected  Governor  twice,  he  was 
defeated  at  the  third  election  by  Governor  Troup.  It 
was  the  hardest  and  hottest  battle  ever  fought  by  the 
Georgia  factions  in  their  long  war  of  words.  Gen. 
Clark  was  then  an  old  man.  Feeling  that  his  connec- 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


2 06 

tion  with  public  affairs  was  ended,  there  came  over  his 
temper  the  most  pleasant  change  ever  experienced  by 
any  one  who  had  passed  a long  life  in  hot-headed 
violence  and  evil-hearted  hatred.  With  the  exception 
of  William  H.  Crawford,  he  became  friendly  with  all 
the  world.  lie  was  in  want  of  means  to  support  the 
elevation  at  which  he  had  arrived.  He  and  Gen.  Jack- 
son  were  born  not  far  apart,  had  fought  for  their  country 
in  youth  in  the  same  way,  had  belonged  afterwards  to 
the  same  kind  of  rude  frontier  society,  and  were  alike 
fearless  in  tight  and  unrelenting  in  hostility.  Gen. 
Jackson,  when  President,  showed  his  sympathy  for 
Gen.  Clark,  by  appointing  him  keeper  of  the  public 
forests  in  Florida.  The  pay  given  by  the  Government 
for  his  services  afforded  him  a comfortable  support  in 
his  old  age.  He  was  hospitable  and  kind  to  every 
body  who  went  to  his  neighborhood  in  that  new 
country  until  his  death. 

General  Clark’s  faults  proceeded  from  the  vices  of 
the  society  to  which  he  belonged  in  early  life.  His 
virtues  were  his  own.  He  was  brave,  firm,  and  patri- 
otic. He  married  the  daughter  of  Col.  Micajah  Wil- 
liamson. Their  only  son  died  from  the  smallpox  at 
the  house  of  their  devoted  friend  Hr.  Fort.  Their  only 
daughter  married  Col.  John  Campbell.  Mrs.  Clark 
was  a worthy  woman.  One  of  her  sisters  married 
John  Griffin,  a Virginia  gentleman,  a lawyer,  and,  for 
a short  time,  a Judge  of  the  Superior  Courts.  After  his 
death,  his  widow  and  Judge  Tait  indulged  their  old 
age  in  a freak  of  fancy,  to  show  the  world  what  they 
could  do  in  reconciling  the  violence  of  the  Clark  and 
Crawford  factions  by  marrying. 

Another  of  Mrs.  Clark’s  sisters  married  Peterson 
Thweat ; one  of  whose  daughters  married  Mr.  Thacker 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


207 


Howard,  formerly  Comptroller  General  of  tlie  State,  a 
most  upright  man  and  faithful  public  officer.  Another 
married  Homer  Howard,  Secretary  of  the  Executive 
Department  when  Mr.  Forsyth  was  Governor.  Mr. 
Peterson  Thweat  of  Columbus  is  their  brother. 

Another  sister  of  Mrs.  Clark  married  Mr.  Fitch,  a 
Yankee  lawyer  of  some  reputation. 

Mrs,  Clark’s  youngest  sister  married  Col.  Duncan 
G.  Campbell. 


DUNCAN  G.  CAMPBEFF. 

Duncan  G.  Campbell  was  born  in  North  Carolina, 
and  educated  at  Chapel  Hill.  His  countrymen,  the 
Clarks,  Dooleys,  Waltons,  and  Murrays,  were  not  his 
kin.  His  father  was  a well-descended,  respectable 
Scotchman,  who,  contrary  to  the  habits  of  his  country- 
men, contrived  to  throw  away  a large  estate.  His 
descendants,  though  poor,  contrived  to  show  that  they 
were  of  gentle  blood  and  quality  raising.  Duncan  G. 
Campbell,  soon  after  his  college  graduation,  removed 
to  Georgia,  and  settled  in  Washington,  Wilks  County. 
His  first  employment  was  to  teach  the  young  ladies  of 
the  town  the  elements  of  learning.  Whilst  thus  occu- 
pied, he  devoted  his  spare  time  to  the  study  of  the 
law,  under  the  direction  of  Judge  Griffin.  After  some 
years’  attentive  practice,  he  was  elected  Solicitor  Gen- 
eral of  his  circuit.  He  represented  AVilks  County 
several  times  in  the  Legislature.  He  married  Miss 
Williamson,  the  sister  of  Mrs.  John  Clark,  and  was 
from  necessity  a Clark  man  in  politics.  He  wras  the 
most  influential  of  all  the  followers  of  his  chief,  the 
most  talented  excepting  Judge  Dooly,  and  would  have 


208 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


succeeded  to  John  Clark’s  party  position  had  he  lived 
a few  years  longer. 

Colonel  Campbell  and  Major  Meriwether  were,  in 
1824,  appointed  to  treat  with  the  Indians  of  Georgia 
for  cession  of  their  occupant  rights.  In  1825  they 
made  the  treaty  wdth  the  Creek  Indians,  which  be- 
came the  subject  of  much  altercation  in  Congress  and 
violent  opposition  on  the  part  of  the  Northern  people. 
The  pretence  for  sympathy  for  the  Indians  was,  that 
the  Commissioners  had  done  great  wrong  to  them  by 
making  presents  to  their  chiefs.  Its  true  object  was, 
to  prevent  the  acquisition  of  territory  and  increase  of 
the  population  of  the  Southern  States.  Presents  had 
always  been  given  to  the  Indians  by  the  authorities  of 
Great  Britain,  the  Colonies,  and  the  States,  when  trea- 
ties were  made  with  them.  Col.  Campbell  lived  long 
enough  to  feel  most  painfully  the  slanderous  abuse 
with  which  he  was  assailed,  and  died  before  he  reaped 
the  rewards  of  public  favor  for  the  great  services 
which  he  rendered  the  State.  He  was  a member  of 
the  Board  of  Trustees  of  Franklin  College  for  many 
years,  and  took  great  interest  in  its  advancement,  and 
the  success  of  every  measure  designed  to  promote  the 
cause  of  education  throughout  the  State.  He  died  in 
1828,  in  the  prime  of  life. 

Col.  Campbell  had  none  of  the  rowdy  habits  of  the 
North  Carolina  Wilks  settlers.  He  avoided  violence, 
and  was  courteous  and  kind  to  every  body.  Though 
his  talents  were  not  of  the  highest  order,  nor  his  pub- 
lic speaking  what  could  be  called  eloquent,  he  was 
among  the  most  successful  lawyers  at  the  bar,  and  use- 
ful members  of  the  Legislature.  He  was  very  indus- 
trious, and  ever  ready  to  do  the  part  of  a good  citizen. 
The  amenity  of  his  temper  was  constantly  shown,  in 
the  delight  which  he  derived  from  pleasing  the  young. 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


209 


His  house  continued,  as  long  as  he  lived,  to  be  one 
of  their  favorite  resorts. 

Col.  Campbell’s  son,  John,  gave  early  proofs  of  the 
extraordinary  acumen,  which  has  since  made  him  the 
great  lawyer  of  the  South.  Whilst  he  was  a student 
of  Franklin  College,  his  father  visited  Athens,  and  was 
invited  to  attend  a meeting  of  the  Demosthenian 
Society,  of  which  both  father  and  son  were  members. 
Col.  Campbell  held  forth  by  request,  upon  the  topic  of 
debate.  When  he  was  done  speaking,  John  asked 
leave  to  answer  the  gentleman,  and  so  knocked  all  his 
father’s  conclusions  into  non  sequiturs,  that  it  was 
difficult  to  tell  which  had  the  uppermost  in  the  father’s 
feelings,  mortified  vanity,  or  gratified  pride.  John 
Campbell  has  lately  been  appointed  an  Associate  Judge 
of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  the  highest 
honor,  except  that  of  Chief  Justice,  which  can  be  con- 
ferred by  the  government  upon  a lawyer.  All  who 
know  him  concur  in  the  opinion  that  the  office  will  be 
well  filled. 

Col.  Campbell’s  daughter,  Sarah,  was  remarkable 
in  early  childhood  for  intellectual  precocity,  and  in 
womanhood  for  superior  attainments.  She  married 
Daniel  Chandler,  one  of  the  handsomest  and  very 
cleverest  young  men  of  Georgia.  He  removed  to  Ala- 
bama, where  he  has  long  practised  law  with  distin- 
guished success. 


JUDGE  DOOLY. 

Johx  Murry  Dooly  was  the  intellectual  superior 
of  the  North  Carolina  whig  settlers.  His  capacity 
was  sufficient  for  any  attainment,  if  it  had  been  pro- 
14 


210 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


perly  directed,  and  actively  employed.  Unfortunately 
for  himself,  and  for  society,  he  was,  when  young,  under 
the  constant  influence  of  idle,  drunken,  gambling  asso- 
ciates. Though  his  estate  was  large,  his  education  was 
neglected.  His  scholastic  knowledge  was  limited  to 
what  he  learned  from  the  common  schoolmasters  of 
his  time.  His  person  was  erect,  and  of  proper  propor- 
tions. His  features  were  of  the  finest  cast.  His  large 
protruding  black  eyes  indicated  to  every  one  who 
looked  into  them  his  extraordinary  genius.  He  was  a 
lawyer,  and  would  have  been  the  most  successful  at 
the  Georgia  bar,  if  his  habits  had  corresponded  with 
his  talents.  He  was  born,  continued  to  live,  and  died 
within  the  limits  of  Lincoln  County.  Its  people  were 
always  gratified  when  they  could  make  him  their 
representative.  He  was  a member  of  the  Legislature 
during  the  embargo  and  restrictive  measures  of  the 
General  Government,  and  the  war  with  Great  Britain, 
and  successfully  advocated  the  alleviating,  thirding, 
and  stop  laws  then  passed.  His  wit,  keen  satire,  quick 
perception,  and  extraordinary  speaking  capacity,  were 
never  surpassed  by  any  one  in  Georgia.  Mr.  Forsyth 
was  his  only  countryman  who  equalled  him  in  polemic 
party  debate.  They  were  never  pitted  against  each 
other,  so  that  their  debating  powers  could  be  com- 
pared. 

Judge  Dooly  was  the  neighbor  and  political  fol- 
lower of  John  Clark.  Being  destitute  of  the  quality 
which  the  Romans  called  virtue,  he  could  not  avoid 
doing  as  his  leader  directed.  John  Clark  ruled  him 
to  his  purposes,  as  long  as  they  belonged  to  the  same 
community,  through  his  determined  will.  His  party, 
when  in  power,  made  him  judge.  He  had  only  occa- 
sionally looked  into  the  laws,  as  an  advocate,  in  pre- 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


211 


paring  cases  for  trial ; and  yet,  when  causes  came  before 
him,  and  were  discussed  by  able  counsel,  his  clear 
perception  and  discriminating  judgment  enabled  him 
to  comprehend  the  merits  of  the  most  intricate,  and  to 
decide  accordingly.  His  deficiency  in  the  discharge  of 
his  duty  as  a judge,  proceeded  from  the  control  which 
his  early  habits  of  drinking  and  gambling  continued  to 
have  over  him.  More  than  once  after  delivering  a 
strong  charge  against  gambling  to  the  Grand  Jury  at 
ihe  opening  of  the  court,  he  went  to  the  faro  table  at 
night,  and  by  his  bold,  hazardous  playing,  sent  the 
gamblers  oft’  for  the  want  of  money,  who  had  continued 
to  play  in  -defiance  of  his  judicial  authority.  He 
never  went  upon  the  bench  drunk,  but  his  red  eyes 
and  trembling  hands  sometimes  showed  that  he 
had  been  in  his  cups  the  night  before.  Dissipation 
and  degrading  practices  prevented  his  seeking  the 
societv  of  ladies.  His  taste  was  never  so  refined  as  to 
reform  his  low  indulgences.  He  was  advanced  in  life, 
when  he  married  a young  woman,  who  knew  him  well, 
and  was  satisfied  with  him  as  he  was.  He  was  kind, 
and  would  have  been  good-tempered,  but  for  the  per- 
petual excitement  of  whiskey.  His  agreeable  social 
qualities  would  have  made  him  the  delight  of  the  best 
society,  if  his  vicious  inclinations  had  not  carried  him 
elsewhere.  Nobody  ever  conversed  with  him  or  heard 
him  speak,  who  did  not  admire  him,  and  regret  that 
his  unfortunate  fate  had  subjected  him  to  temptations 
too  strong  to  overcome.  He  had  the  organization  and 
endowments  of  the  greatest  man  of  his  age  and  coun- 
try. As  he  was,  he  only  played  second  fiddle  to  one  of 
the  most  ignorant  and  lawless. 


212 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


AUSTIN  DABNEY. 

Many  years  before  the  revolutionary  war,  a Vir- 
ginia gentleman  of  the  old  school  resided  upon  his 
plantation  not  many  miles  from  Richmond.  He  was  a 
bachelor  of  long  standing,  who  indulged  in  card-play- 
ing, drinking,  horse-racing,  and  other  dissolute  prac- 
tices. His  wealth  consisted  in  a large  landed  estate, 
and  many  negroes.  No  white  person  lived  with  him, 
except  a little  girl,  whose  parentage  was  unknown. 
When  the  bachelor  gentleman  left  home  upon  his 
frolics,  this  little  girl  remained  under  the  care  of  a 
negro  mammy.  She  grew  up  until  she  ceased  to  be  a 
child,  knowing  scarcely  any  one  except  the  bachelor, 
and  the  negroes  of  his  household.  Suddenly  and 
secretly  the  old  gentleman  left  his  plantation,  taking 
her  with  him.  He  went  to  North  Carolina,  where  he 
remained  some  time  with  a man  by  the  name  of 
Aycock.  Aycock  afterwards  removed  to  Georgia, 
along  with  the  emigrants  from  North  Carolina,  who 
first  settled  Wilks  County,  carrying  with  him  a mulatto 
boy. 

When  the  contest  between  the  wings  and  tories 
became  a struggle  for  the  lives  and  liberty  of  all  who 
favored  the  cause  of  freedom,  Aycock  was  called  upon 
to  do  his  part  in  defending  his  fireside.  From  the 
time  when  he  was  required  to  fight,  he  saw  a terrible 
tory  constantly  pointing  a loaded  gun  at  him.  Fear- 
ing to  face  the  danger,  he  offered  as  a substitute  his 
mulatto  boy,  then  transformed  into  a stout  lad.  He 
had  previously  passed  as  his  slave.  He  acknowledged 
that  he  was  not,  when  he  found  that  he  would  not 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


213 


otherwise  be  received  as  a soldier.  The  mulatto  was 
accordingly  enrolled  in  a captain’s  company,  by  the 
name  of  Austin  Dabney.  No  soldier  under  Clark  was 
braver,  or  did  better  service  during  the  revolutionary 
struggle.  In  the  battle  of  Kettle  Creek,  the  hardest 
ever  fought  in  Georgia  between  the  whigs  and  tories, 
Austin  Dabney  was  shot  down,  and  left  on  the  battle 
ground  very  dangerously  wounded.  He  was  found, 
carried  home,  and  cared  for,  by  a man  of  the  name  of 
Harris.  It  was  long  before  Austin  Dabney  recovered. 
Gratitude  for  the  kindness  which  he  had  received  be- 
came the  ruling  feeling  of  his  heart.  He  worked  for 
Harris  and  his  children,  and  served  them  more  faith- 
fully and  efficiently  than  any  slave  ever  served  a 
master.  He  moved  with  them  from  Wilks  County  to 
Madison,  soon  after  the  latter  county  was  organized. 
He  sent  his  benefactor’s  oldest  son  to  school,  and  after- 
wards to  college,  by  the  hard  earnings  of  his  own 
hands.  He  lived  upon  the  poorest  food,  and  wore  old 
patched  clothes,  that  he  might  make  young  Harris  a 
gentleman.  When  his  protege  left  Franklin  College, 
Austin  Dabney  placed  him  in  the  office  of  Stephen 
Upson,  then  at  the  head  of  the  legal  profession  in 
Upper  Georgia.  When  he  was  examined  at  the 
Superior  Court  of  Oglethorpe  County,  took  the  oath 
for  admission  to  the  bar,  and  received  the  fraternal 
shake  of  the  hand  from  the  members  of  the  profession, 
Austin  Dabney  was  standing  outside,  leaning  on  the 
railing  which  inclosed  the  court,  two  currents  of  tears 
trickling  down  his  mulatto  face,  from  remembrance  of 
the  kindness  which  he  had  received,  and  thankfulness 
for  the  power  which  had  been  given  him  to  do  some- 
thing in  return. 

Stephen  Upson  wras  a member  of  the  Legislature 


214 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


when  the  surveys  of  public  land,  which  were  too  small 
to  be  drawn  for  in  the  lottery  of  1819,  were  disposed 
of  by  law.  Austin  Dabney  had  not  been  permitted  to 
have  a chance  in  the  lottery  with  the  other  soldiers  of 
the  revolutionary  war.  Stephen  Upson  used  his  con- 
trolling influence'  in  the  Legislature  to  procure  the  pas- 
sage of  a law  giving  to  Austin  Dabney  a valuable  frac- 
tion. One  of  the  members  from  Madison  County  voted 
for  the  law.  At  the  next  election,  his  constituents  were 
excited  into  the  hottest  party  contest  by  this  conduct 
of  their  representative.  They  said  that  it  was  an  in- 
dignity to  white  men,  for  a mulatto  to  be  put  upon  an 
equality  with  them  in  the  distribution  of  the  public 
land,  though  not  one  had  done  such  lorn?  and  useful 
public  service. 

The  United  States  Government  allowed  Austin 
Dabney  a pension,  on  account  of  his  thigh,  which  was 
broken  at  the  battle  of  Kettle  Creek.  He  went  once  a 
year  to  Savannah  to  draw  what  was  due  him.  On  one 
occasion  he  travelled  thither  with  Col.  Wiley  Pope. 
They  were  very  intimate  and  social  on  the  road,  and 
until  they  entered  the  streets  of  Savannah.  As  they 
were  passing  along  through  the  city,  Colonel  Pope  ob- 
served to  Austin  Dabney,  that  he  was  a sensible  man, 
and  knew  the  prejudices  which  forbade  his  associating 
with  him  in  city  society.  Austin  Dabney  checked  his 
horse,  and  fell  in  the  rear,  after  the  fashion  of  mulatto 
servants  following  their  masters.  They  passed  by  the 
house  of  Gen.  James  Jackson,  then  Governor  of  the 
State.  He  was  standing  in  his  door  at  the  time.  Col. 
Pope  passed  on  without  notice.  Recognizing  Austin 
Dabney,  he  ran  into  the  street,  seized  him  by  the  hand, 
drew  him  from  his  horse,  and  carried  him  into  his 
house,  where  he  continued  his  guest  whilst  business 
kept  him  in  Savannah. 


FIBST  SETTLEES  OF  UPPEE  GEOEGIA. 


215 


It  was  very  strange  that  Austin  Dabney,  who  never 
knew-  bis  grandfather,  should  have  inherited  the  taste 
of  the  Virginia  gentlemen  for  horse-racing.  He  owned 
fine  horses,  attended  the  race-course,  entered  the  list  for 
the  stake,  and  betted  with  all  the  eagerness  of  a profes- 
sional sportsman. 

It  was  Austin  Dabney’s  custom  to  be  at  the  tavern 
when  Judge  Dooly  arrived  at  Daniels ville  to  hold 
Madison  Court.  He  held  the  judge’s  horse  until  he 
got  from  his  carriage,  and  then  held  his  hand  most 
affectionately.  The  judge’s  father  had  died  in  the 
whig  cause.  Austin  was  always  an  adherent  of  the 
son,  without  regard  to  party  politics.  In  the  evening 
after  the  adjournment  of  court,  he  usually  went  into 
the  room  occupied  by  the  judge  and  the  lawyers,  where, 
taking  a low  seat,  he  listened  to  what  was  said,  or  him- 
self told  of  the  stirring  incidents  of  the  struggle  be- 
tween  the  whigs  and  tories  in  Upper  Georgia  and 
South  Carolina.  His  memory  was  retentive,  his  under- 
standing good,  and  he  described  what  he  knew  -well. 

Harris,  Austin  Dabney’s  protege  moved  away  from 
Madison  County.  Austin  Dabney  went  with  him,  and 
continued  to  give  him  his  devoted  personal  services  and 
his  property  as  long  as  he  lived. 


FELIX  GILBERT. 

Felix  Gilbert  was  a Scotchman,  and,  like  most  of 
his  countrymen  who  emigrated  to  the  colonies,  followed 
trading  in  preference  to  agriculture.  He  married  Miss 
Grant,  the  daughter  of  Peter  Grant,  whose  second  wife 


216 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


was  my  great  grandmother  Strother.  He  lived  among 
the  Strothers  in  Spotsylvania,  for  some  time,  and  then 
removed  into  the  Shenandoah  Valley,  and  settled  at 
the  foot  of  the  Peaked  Mountain.  His  trade  was  in  a 
very  small  way  until  he  went  to  London,  and  returned 
with  a large  stock  of  goods.  A story  got  into  circula- 
tion, accounting  for  this  favorable  change  in  the  fortune 
of  Felix  Gilbert,  which  is  still  occasionally  heard  about 
the  Peaked  Mountain.  The  Dutch  and  Irish  of  the 
valley  have  so  great  love  for  the  wonderful,  that  it  is 
impossible  now  to  ascertain  what  foundation  in  truth 
there  was  for  it.  They  say  that  Felix  Gilbert  saw,  of  a 
dark  night,  high  upon  the  Peaked  Mountain,  soon  after 
he  settled  near  by,  a bright  sparkling  object.  His 
Scotch  incpiisitiveness  forced  him  to  try  and  find  out 
what  it  was.  His  superstitious  dread  of  what  was 
mysterious,  induced  him  to  take  a companion  with  him 
when  he  went  in  search.  He  found  a diamond,  or 
some  other  precious  stone,  embedded  in  a rock  so  large 
that  the  two  could  not  cany  it  away.  They  turned  it 
over  to  conceal  the  jewel.  When  the  two  afterwards 
hunted  for  the  rock,  there  were  such  vast  numbers  on 
the  mountain  side  like  it,  that  they  did  not  discover  it. 
The  sum  derived  from  the  sale  to  the  King  of  England, 
or  some  nobleman  in  London,  of  what  was  found  in  the 
rock  which  was  so  bright  at  night,  made,  according  to 
gossip,  the  great  change  for  the  better  in  the  mercan- 
tile business  of  Felix  Gilbert. 

The  Peaked  Mountain  is  a few  miles  from  my 
grandfathers’,  Peachy  Ik  Gilmer  and  Thomas  Lewis. 
The  young  Gilberts,  Lewises,  and  Gilmers,  called  each 
other  cousin,  and  the  old  people  uncle  and  aunt.  They 
lived  in  the  most  intimate  social  way — meeting  together 
very  often — dancing  and  frolicking  with  the  unrestrain- 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


217 


eel  freedom  of  the  days  before  quality  airs  superseded 
simple  doings,  and  money-making  idle  jollity. 

When  the  revolutionary  war  was  over,  and  the 
people  became  restless  for  want  of  excitement,  many  of 
the  Virginians  sought  to  better  their  condition  by  emi- 
grating to  Georgia.  Felix  Gilbert  followed  the  move- 
ment, and  settled  in  Wilks,  a few  miles  northeast  of 
Washington.  Though  my  father  and  mother  loved 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Gilbert  and  their  children  as  kinspeople, 
the  distance  from  Broad  River  to  their  residence  was 
too  great  to  admit  of  much  intercourse  in  those  hard- 
working times.  The  oldest  daughter  of  Mr.  Gilbert 
married  Henry  Gibson.  She  and  my  mother  were 
very  intimate  friends  when  young.  They  did  not  meet 
for  twenty  years.  I was  present  when  they  did,  and 
saw  the  exciting  embrace  which  hastened  Mrs.  Gibson’s 
death,  then  declining  with  pulmonary  consumption. 

Ann  Gilbert,  the  second  daughter,  married  John 
Taylor,  of  the  family  of  President  Taylor.  He  showed 
the  relationship  by  his  bluntness  and  obdurate  obsti- 
nacy. He  was  a democrat,  and  called  every  one  a fool 
who  did  not  believe  in  Mr.  Jefferson.  He  told  the 
truth  so  roughly,  that  many  would  have  preferred  a 
little  palaver  to  his  way  of  talking.  My  father  and  his 
brother  George  were  democrats,  and  early  friends  of 
John  Taylor.  He  never  failed  to  visit  them  when  he 
went  near  enough.  Mrs.  Taylor  was  as  agreeable  and 
conciliatory  as  her  husband  was  short  and  huffy.  Their 
last  residence  was  on  the  side  of  the  southwest  moun- 
tains in  the  County  of  Orange,  Virginia,  and  immedi- 
ately opposite  to  the  eminence  on  the  side  of  which  Mr. 
Richard  Taliaferro  lived,  who  married  my  father’s 
youngest  sister. 

John,  the  oldest  son  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Taylor,  married 


218 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


Miss  Foote,  of  the  family  of  the  interminable  talking 
member  of  Congress.  He  removed  from  Virginia  to 
'Western  Alabama. 

Gilbert,  their  second  son,  was  a Methodist  preacher, 
and  resided  somewhere  in  Tennessee. 

William,  the  third  son,  married  Miss  Booker,  of 
Wilks  County,  and  moved  to  the  Far  West. 

Elizabeth,  Mrs.  Gilbert’s  third  daughter,  married 
Gilbert  Ilay,  a physician  of  reputation,  who  resided  in 
the  town  of  Washington,  Wilks  County,  and  practised 
his  profession  there  most  of  his  life,  and  until  his  death. 
He  belonged  to  the  Clark  faction,  and  was  second  to 
General  Clark  in  his  duel  with  William  H.  Crawford. 
Mrs.  Hay  was  a very  worthy,  sensible  woman.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Hay  had  two  sons  and  two  daughters.  Their 
sons  were  gentlemen  of  talents  and  respectability. 
Nancy,  their  oldest  daughter,  married  Richard  Long, 
Esq.,  the  oldest  son  of  Col.  Nicholas  Long.  She  was  a 
very  amiable  woman.  Her  patience  and  fortitude  un- 
der suffering  was  put  to  the  severest  test,  by  years  of 
suffering  from  a cancer,  which  killed  her.  Maria,  the 
youngest  daughter,  married  Joseph  Worsham,  a rela- 
tive of  Mrs.  Hope  Hull  and  Mrs.  David  Meriwether. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Gilbert’s  daughter  Maria  married  Mr. 
Christmas,  and,  after  his  death,  Andrew  Shepherd,  of 
Wilks,  a very  respectable  and  wealthy  Virginia  planter. 
They  had  one  daughter,  a beautiful  young  lady,  who 
passed  a winter  in  Washington  City  with  Dr.  Laurie, 
her  uncle,  mixed  freely  with  the  gay  throng  there,  and 
forced  the  conviction  oh  many  bachelors  and  widowers, 
that  Southern  beauties  are  very  attractive.  She  mar- 
ried the  son  of  General  Winder  of  Maryland. 

Andrew  Shepherd,  after  the  death  of  his  first  wife, 
married  Miss  Hillhouse,  the  sister  of  Mrs.  Felix  Gilbert. 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


219 


They  liacl  several  children.  Their  three  daughters, 
Mrs.  Weems,  Mrs.  Baker,  and  Mrs.  Hansel,  are  our  spe- 
cial friends. 

Andrew  Shepherd  showed  the  feelings  of  clanship 
which  united  our  families,  by  making  me  executor  of 
his  will  when  he  died,  though  I was  then  unmarried, 
and  did  not  live  near  him. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Gilbert  had  two  sons.  William,  the 
oldest  by  many  years,  was  gay,  good-looking,  and 
thoughtless.  He  was  a merchant.  The  goods  and  the 
money  went  in  every  way  but  accumulation,  until  he  be- 
came the  copartner  of  his  brother  Felix.  After  the 
death  of  his  brother,  his  easy  yielding  temper  induced 
him  to  lend  the  use  of  his  credit  to  two  or  three  specu- 
lating nephews,  by  whom  he  lost  most  of  his  great  es- 
tate. What  was  left,  depended  for  its  value  upon  the 
uncertain  issue  of  a lawsuit  in  Elbert  Superior  Court. 
Col.  Campbell  and  myself  were  his  lawyers ; the  cause 
came  on  for  trial,  and  the  parties  announced  themselves 
ready.  Immediately  after,  Col.  Campbell  was  sent  for 
to  see  a dying  child,  so  that  the  management  of  the 
case  depended  entirely  upon  me.  Both  the  law  and 
the  facts,  which  controlled  the  decision,  were  so  doubt- 
ful, that  the  result  depended  upon  the  manner  in  which 
the  jury  might  be  influenced  by  the  argument  and 
showing  of  the  advocate.  When  Col.  Campbell  left, 
Mr.  Gilbert  became  pale  and  trembling,  and  willing  to 
compromise  his  rights  for  half  the  amount  which  he 
claimed.  I had  great  regard  for  him,  and  knew  that 
the  loss  of  the  suit  would  leave  him  dependent  upon 
others  for  his  support  in  after  life.  My  excitement  be- 
came intense.  As  I went  on  in  the  investigation  and 
pleadings,  my  confidence  increased.  I stood  firm  upon 
my  feet.  My  voice  became  strong  and  clear ; and  my 


220 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


mincl  without  doubt  as  to  the  law  and  the  facts.  I had 
been  familiar  with  the  Elbert  people  from  my  youth, 
and  addressed  them  with  the  freedom  of  friends.  I 
succeeded. 

Felix  Gilbert,  the  youngest  brother,  was  one  of  the 
cleverest  men  of  Georgia.  To  great  energy,  industry, 
and  perfect  integrity,  he  united  vigorous  intellect,  en- 
larged patriotism,  benevolent  temper,  and  high  social 
qualities.  He  was  unrivalled  in  reputation  among  the 
merchants  of  the  upper  country.  He  was  a member  of 
the  Legislature,  and  showed  by  the  influence  which  he 
exercised  that  his  talents  for  politics  were  equal  to  his 
knowledge  of  commerce.  He  died  in  the  prime  of  life 
with  the  constitutional  disease  of  his  family. 

Felix  Gilbert  married  Miss  Hillhouse,  the  daughter 
of  David  Hillhouse,  and  niece  of  James  Hillhouse,  the 
great  Senator  of  Connecticut.  When  Felix  Gilbert 
courted  Miss  Hillhouse,  her  father  was  dead.  She  re- 
ferred him  to  Mr.  James  Hillhouse.  He  visited  the 
stern  old  puritan,  in  New  Haven,  and  was  questioned 
very  minutely  and  authoritatively  about  his  ability  to 
take  care  of  a wife,  before  the  consent  was  given.  Mr. 
Gilbert  only  lived  a few  years. 

I was  Mr.  Gilbert’s  nurse  one  night,  a few  weeks 
before  his  death.  Whilst  I was  sitting  by  his  bedside, 
his  daughter  Sarah,  his  only  child,  then  a little  girl, 
seven  or  eight  years  old,  came  into  his  chamber.  'When 
she  left  the  room,  he  told  me  that  it  would  be  a great  re- 
lief to  his  anxiety  about  her  future  fate,  if  he  could  know 
that  I was  to  be  her  husband.  When  I left  him  the 
next  morning,  he  called  Sarah  to  him,  and  told  her 
that  he  wished  her  when  she  was  old  enough  to  marry 
me.  Sarah  supposing  that  she  was  obliged  to  do  what 
her  father  enjoined  upon  her,  cried  herself  to  sleep  the 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


221 


night  after,  because  the  man  whom  she  was  to  marry 
was  so  ugly. 

Sarah  Gilbert  was  intrusted  by  her  father’s  will  to 
her  grandmother,  Mrs.  David  Hillhouse,  a very  sensible, 
well-informed,  precise  old  lady,  who  had  been  left  a 
widow  without  property,  and  by  her  own  exertions 
sustained  and  educated  a family  of  children  in  the  very 
best  way.  She  had  showed  her  independent  spirit,  and 
strength  of  understanding,  by  the  manner  in  which  she 
had  edited  the  first  newspaper  published  in  the  section 
of  the  State  in  which  she  lived.  The  trust  confided  to 
her  by  her  son-in-law  she  discharged  in  the  most  faith- 
ful and  useful  way.  When  Sarah  became  Miss  Gilbert, 
she  travelled  with  her  for  her  pleasure  and  information 
to  many  cities  and  through  several  States.  They 
visited  the  Peaked  Mountain,  in  Rockingham,  Virginia, 
the  birth-place  of  Sarah’s  father,  and  Major  Grattan’s 
residence,  whose  wife  was  a particular  friend  of  his 
family.  Their  son  Peachy,  a youth  of  sixteen,  was 
reduced  to  the  poetical  state  by  his  love  for  the  young 
lady.  Miss  Gilbert’s  education  was  perfected  by  passing 
some  time  with  her  intellectual  and  highly  cultivated 
relations  in  New  Haven,  and  the  neighborhood.  Mr. 
Adam  Alexander  was  then  going  through  college.  He 
was  the  handsomest  youth  of  his  class,  intelligent  and 
courteous,  and  like  Miss  Gilbert,  a native  Georgian. 
The  young  gentleman  had  not  in  the  three  years  he  had 
been  in  Yale,  seen  any  one  so  beautiful  and  accomplished 
as  his  countrywoman.  He  made  their  admiration  mu- 
tual, by  the  pleasing  manner  in  which  he  pressed  his 
admiration  upon  her.  They  became  more  and  more 
attached  to  each  other,  until  they  felt  that  life  would 
be  a lifeless  life  unless  spent  together. 

I saw  Miss  Gilbert  for  the  first  time  after  girlhood 


222 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


at  the  Madison  Springs,  Avitli  her  uncle,  Mr.  William 
Gilbert,  and  Mr.  Alexander.  I was  then  most  happily 
married,  and  very  much  gratified  that  the  trust  which 
her  father  wished  might  be  mine,  was  about  to  be 
placed  upon  one  so  worthy  of  it.  They  were  soon  after 
married.  Mr.  Alexander  is  now  as  distinguished  for 
his  good  understanding,  cultivated  taste,  and  excellent 
character,  as  he  was  when  a collegiate  for  his  fine  person 
and  regular  features.  He  has  done  what  few  Southern 
men  possessed  of  great  riches  in  early  life  ever  did  be- 
fore, devote  his  time  constantly  and  industriously  to 
laborious  and  useful  employment.  He  was  for  a long 
time  cashier  of  the  branch  of  the  State  bank  at  Wash- 
ington. He  has  directed  very  attentively  the  manage- 
ment of  the  large  plantation  on  which  he  resides.  He 
has  constantly  either  instructed  or  superintended  the 
education  of  his  numerous  family  of  children.  He 
founded,  and  has  been  the  principal  patron  and  director 
of  one  of  the  best  literary  institutions  of  the  State. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Alexander,  their  sons,  and  daughters,  are 
among  our  best  friends.  They  have  always  visited  us, 
and  treated  us  as  their  near  kinsfolk.  Distant  as  the 
relationship  is  between  Mrs.  Alexander  and  my  wife, 
they  are  in  some  particulars  singularly  alike.  Mrs. 
Alexander  is  many  years  younger  than  my  wife.  Mr. 
Alexander  appreciates  her  beauty  very  highly,  and  was 
a little  slow  in  acknowledging  the  resemblance.  It  was 
forced  upon  him  in  the  most  convincing  way.  We 
visited  him  when  Mrs.  Alexander  happened  to  be  from 
home.  The  nurse  brought  the  youngest  child  to  my 
wife.  The  little  one  with  joy  put  its  arms  around  her 
neck,  and  kissed  her  for  its  mother. 

Their  three  oldest  daughters  are  very  happily  mar- 
ried to  gentlemen  of  great  respectability.  The  prettiest 
and  wealthiest  is  still  unmarried. 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


223 


"William  Felix,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Alexander’s  oldest  son, 
was  educated  at  Yale  College.  He  lias  succeeded  his 
father  in  the  casliiership  of  the  bank  at  Washington. 
He  is  married  to  the  oldest  daughter  of  the  Honorable 
Robert  Toombs,  whom  he  has  loved  and  claimed  for 
his  wife  from  early  boyhood.  It  is  a delightful  sight 
to  see  two  young  people  after  marriage  making  it  their 
controlling  purpose  to  make  each  other  happy.  That 
pleasure  is  enjoyed  by  the  friends  of  Felix  and  Louisa 
Alexander. 


The  Saxon  Scotch  emigrated  in  such  numbers  to 
the  fine  country  in  the  north  of  Ireland,  during  the 
sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries,  as  to  form  a dis- 
tinct race  from  the  native  Celts.  Their  women  were 
the  prettiest  in  person,  and  purest  in  character,  of  Eu- 
ropean ladies ; and  their  men  were  equally  distinguished 
for  enterprise,  intellectual  capacity,  and  love  of  liberty. 
The  inferior  station  assigned  by  the  British  government 
to  Irishmen  in  the  public  service,  induced  most  of  those 
who  could  to  emigrate  to  the  American  Colonies.  In 
the  early  part  of  the  eighteenth  century,  several  Scotch- 
Irish  Presbyterian  congregations  settled  the  fertile 
territory  in  North  Carolina,  between  the  Catawba  and 
Yadkin  Rivers.  The  arbitrary  dominion  of  Great 
Britain  followed  the  emigrants  to  their  new  homes. 
They  were  forbid  to  take  the  evidence  of  any  existing 
debt  in  the  form  of  a promissory  note,  or  buy  a pound 
of  tea  without  first  paying  the  government  for  the  pri- 
vilege. A large  British  army  crossed  the  Atlantic  to 
compel  them,  and  others  like  them,  to  do  what  they 


221 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


would  not  voluntarily.  The  colonists  were  obliged  to 
choose  between  submission  and  resistance.  The  rumors 
about  the  battles  of  Lexington  and  Bunker  Hill  so  ex- 
cited the  Scotch-Irisk  of  Mecklenburg,  that  on  the  10th 
of  May,  1775,  they  assembled  in  the  little  village  of 
Charlotte,  to  agree  what  they  would  do.  They  made 
the  following  declaration  of  their  opinions  and  pur- 
poses : — 

THE  MECKLENBURG  DECLARATION. 

“ Resolved  1st.  That  -whosoever  directly  or  indirectly  abetted, 
or  in  any  way,  form,  or  manner,  countenanced  the  unchartered 
and  dangerous  invasion  of  our  rights,  as  claimed  by  Great 
Britain,  is  an  enemy  to  this  country,  to  America,  and  to  the  in- 
herent and  unalienable  rights  of  man. 

<!  Resolved  2d.  That  we,  the  citizens  of  Mecklenburg  County, 
do  hereby  dissolve  the  political  bonds  which  have  connected  us 
with  the  Mother  Country,  and  hereby  absolve  ourselves  from  all 
allegiance  to  the  British  Crown,  and  abjure  all  political  connec- 
tion, contract,  or  association  with  that  nation,  who  have  wantonly 
trampled  on  our  rights  and  liberties,  and  inhumanly  shed  the 
blood  of  American  Patriots  at  Lexington. 

“ Resolved  3 d.  That  we  do  hereby  declare  ourselves  a free 
and  independent  people  ; are,  and  of  right  ought  to  bef  a sove- 
reign and  self-governing  association,  under  the  control  of  no  power 
other  than  that  of  our  God,  and  the  General  Government  of  the 
Congress  : to  the  maintenance  of  which  independence,  we  solemn- 
ly pledge  to  each  other  our  mutual  co-operation,  our  lives,  our 
fortunes,  and  our  most  sacred  honor. 

“ Resolved  1th.  That,  as  we  acknowledge  the  existence  and 
control  of  no  law,  nor  legal  office,  civil  or  military,  within  this 
county,  we  do  hereby  ordain  and  adopt  as  a rule  of  life,  all,  each, 
and  every  of  our  former  laws  ; wherein,  nevertheless,  the  Crown 
of  Great  Britain  never  can  be  considered  as  holding  rights,  privi- 
leges, immunities,  or  authority  therein. 

“ Resolved  5th.  That  it  is  further  decreed,  that  all,  each,  and 
every  military  officer  in  this  county  is  hereby  retained  in  his  for- 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


225 


mer  command  and  authority,  he  acting  conformably  to  these 
regulations.  And  that  every  member  present  of  this  delegation 
shall  henceforth  be  a civil  officer,  viz. : a justice  of  the  peace,  in 
the  character  of  a committee-man,  to  issue  process,  hear  and  de- 
termine all  matters  of  controversy,  according  to  said  adopted 
laws  ; and  to  preserve  peace,  union,  and  harmony  in  said  county ; 
and  to  use  every  exertion  to  spread  the  love  of  country  and  fire 
of  freedom  throughout  America,  until  a general  organized  gov- 
ernment he  established  in  this  province.” 

A voice  from  tlie  crowd  called  out  for  “ three 
cheers,”  and  the  whole  company  shouted  three  times, 
and  threw  their  hats  in  the  air. 

The  resolutions  were  read  again  and  again  during 
the  day  to  different  companies,  desirous  of  retaining  in 
their  memories  sentiments  so  congenial  to  their  feelings. 
There  are  still  living  some  whose  parents  were  in  that 
assembly,  and  heard  and  read  the  resolutions  ; and  from 
whose  lips  they  heard  the  circumstances  and  sentiments 
of  this  remarkable  declaration. 

When  the  chairman  of  the  meeting  put  the  ques- 
tion, “ Who  will  carry  our  resolves  to  the  Congress  of 
the  Confederation,”  James  Jack,  a bold,  enthusiastic 
man,  answered,  “ I will.”  Immediately  after,  a lone 
horseman  might  have  been  seen,  with  intent  look, 
pressing  his  horse  on  through  the  country  towards  the 
north.  When  James  Jack  arrived  in  Philadelphia,  he 
attended  the  Congress,  and  delivered  his  message  to 
some  of  its  members.  That  body  took  no  notice  of  it 
in  its  proceedings.  The  majority  were  not  then  pre- 
pared  to  jeopard  their  lives  and  property  by  doing 
what  was  treasonable.  Whilst  the  Declaration  of  In- 
dependence, uj^de  by  the  Congress  of  the  Confedera- 
tion, on  the  4th  of  July,  1716,  has  been  upon  the  lips 
of  every  American,  upon  every  return  of  its  anniversary, 
15 


226 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


the  Declaration  of  Independence,  made  more,  than  a 
year  before  by  the  Mecklenburg  people,  remained  for 
a long  time  unknown  to  fame.  The  fact  that  such  a 
declaration  had  been  made,  was  unnoticed  in  history, 
unknown  to  the  public,  and  denied  when  asserted,  until 
placed  beyond  dispute  by  the  production  of  two  copies, 
which  had  continued  in  the  possession  of  the  descend- 
ants of  persons  present  when  it  was  made  ; and  by  the 
finding  of  a copy,  which  was  sent  to  his  government  by 
some  British  officer  in  the  Southern  Colonies,  and  de- 
posited in  the  colonial  office  of  London. 

When  liberty  triumphed,  James  Jack  removed  from 
North  Carolina  to  Georgia,  and  after  a while  to  Wilks, 
and  from  thence  to  Elbert  County,  near  Broad  River. 

When  James  Jack  offered  to  be  the  bearer  to  Con- 
gress of  the  Mecklenburg  Declaration  of  Independence, 
Francis  Cummings,  his  neighbor  and  friend,  was  stand- 
ing by,  full  of  the  spirit  which  prompted  Jack  to  act. 
He  was  the  finest  specimen  of  manly  person,  noble 
head,  and  impressive  features,  in  the  crowd  of  fine- 
looking  Scotch-Irishmen  there.  For  fifty  years  after- 
wards, Francis  Cummings  might  have  been  seen  on  the 
walls  of  Zion,  and  his  clarion  voice  heard  proclaiming 
liberty  to  the  children  of  Adam  enchained  in  sin,  who 
would  fight  the  good  fight  of  faith  in  the  form  pre- 
scribed by  the  Presbyterian  Church. 

Francis  Cummings  followed  his  friend  Jack  to 
Wilks  County.  His  last  residence  and  preaching-place 
was  Greensborough. 

William  Jack,  the  son  of  the  ever-to-be-remembered 
James  Jack,  married  the  oldest  daughter  of  Dr.  Francis 
Cummings.  He  was  for  a long  time  a merchant  in 
Augusta,  of  the  firm  of  Jack  & Ennis.  No  trader  of 
that  town  was  ever  so  confided  in  by  the  Broad  River 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


227 


people  as  William  Jack.  When  lie  quit  business,  be 
settled  among  them,  on  the  Elbert  side  of  Broad  River. 

Patrick  Jack,  the  second  son  of  James  Jack,  was  a 
small,  active,  well-formed  man,  of  good  temper,  sweet 
insinuating  voice,  and  full  of  frolic  and  fun.  When  he 
married  Miss  Spencer,  the  niece  of  Mrs.  Micajah  Mc- 
Gehee,  he  quitted  idle,  dissipated  ways,  settled  on  the 
Elbert  side  of  Broad  River,  and  joined  the  Methodists 
during  the  great  religious  excitement  of  1809-10.  He 
Avas  appointed  Colonel  of  the  8th  Regiment  during  the 
war  of  1812.  His  addictedness  to  prayer,  and  the  sav- 
ing of  his  pay,  did  not  prove  the  best  qualities  for  en- 
forcing discipline.  The  8th  Infantry  was  remarkable 
for  the  dissolute  habits  of  its  officers,  and  the  disorder- 
ly conduct  of  the  soldiers. 

Leroy  M.  Wiley,  of  New  York,  reputed  to  be  one 
of  the  richest  men  in  the  world,  is  a nephew  of  James 
Jack. 

Alexander  Bowie,  formerly  Chancellor  of  Alabama, 
married  James  Jack’s  niece. 

As  James  Jack  was  a North  Carolinian  by  birth, 
and  one  of  the  emigrants  to  Wilks,  he  is  placed  among 
the  North  Carolina  settlers,  though  his  residence  and 
death  was  among  the  Broad  River  Virginia  people. 


COLONEL  NICHOLAS  LONG. 

Though  Nicholas  Long  was  too  young  to  render 
any  very  important  service  to  the  cause  of  liberty 
during  the  revolutionary  war,  he  was  old  enough  to 


228 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


show,  by  his  whig  enthusiasm,  what  he  would  have 
done  had  he  been  older.  When  he  arrived  at  man- 
hood, his  tall,  well-formed  person,  expressive  features, 
polished,  courteous  manners,  kind  temper,  cultivated 
taste,  and  good  understanding,  made  him  the  most 
admired  gentleman  of  his  day.  It  is  indeed  singular 
that  the  most  accomplished  man  of  the  southern  country 
should  have  been  born  and  educated  in  North  Carolina, 
and  have  chosen  for  his  residence  in  after-life  the 
frontiers  of  Georgia.  He  married  a fine  lady  in  that 
part  of  North  Carolina  which  is  near  enough  to  the 
border  for  the  people  to  call  themselves  Virginians. 
He  settled  immediately  afterwards  in  Wilks  County, 
Georgia.  The  professions  of  the  law,  medicine,  and 
the  pulpit,  monopolized,  in  early  times,  in  Georgia,  the 
very  small  number  of  the  educated.  It  is  not  now 
known  why  Nicholas  Long,  having,  as  he  did,  an  un- 
usual share  of  learning,  and  capacity  for  influencing 
others,  was  not  a lawyer.  It  is  probable  that  his 
temper  urged  him  to  action  in  preference  to  the  law- 
yer’s office.  He  planted,  surveyed,  and  speculated  in 
land,  and  acquired  more  wealth  than  those  who  sought 
success  by  professional  practice.  He  resided  in  sight 
and  within  a short  walk  of  the  town  of  Washington. 
His  house,  and  the  grounds  about  it,  were  in  better 
style  than  those  elsewhere  in  any  part  of  the  upper 
country.  His  employments  led  him  into  connection 
with  the  companies  who  purchased  millions  of  acres  of 
the  State  of  Georgia  in  1795.  The  conduct  of  some 
of  the  agents  of  those  companies  made  every  body  who 
belonged  to  them  so  unpopular,  that  Col.  Long  never 
had  any  high  public  office  dependent  upon  the  voice 
of  the  people.  His  known  gallantry  and  intelligence 
induced  the  Government  of  the  United  States  to 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA.  22  ) 

appoint' him  Colonel  of  the  43cl  Regiment  of  Infantry 
in  the  war  of  1812.  When  the  law  passed  for  raising 
and  organizing  that  regiment,  the  materials  out  of 
which  the  regular  army  was  formed  had  been  already 
so  used  up,  that  soldiers  could  only  be  found  for  a few 
companies,  squads  and  detachments,  wdiich  were  never 
in  the  field,  nor  Col.  Long  in  full  command. 

Mrs.  Long  died  of  pulmonary  consumption.  Col. 
Long’s  tall,  spare  person,  and  uarrow  chest,  could  not 
resist  the  destructive  tendency  of  the  feverish  influence 
of  the  wdfe  whom  he  loved.  Some  time  after  her 
death,  his  own  health  began  to  decline.  I had  been  a 
first  lieutenant  of  one  of  the  companies  of  the  43d,  and 
greatly  indebted  to  Col.  Long  for  his  constant  courtesy 
and  kindness.  My  own  health  was  then  very  bad. 
He  invited  me  to  be  his  companion  in  a visit  to  some 
of  the  southern  Atlantic  islands.  Circumstances  which 
I could  not  control  prevented  my  going  with  him. 
Consumption  had  too  strong  hold  upon  his  lungs  to  be 
loosened  by  climate  or  place.  He  died  soon  after  his 
return  home. 

Margaret,  Col.  Long’s  oldest  daughter,  was  educated 
at  Bethlehem,  in  Pennsylvania,  then  considered  by  the 
people  of  the  South,  the  highest  quality  school  for 
young  ladies.  When  Miss  Loug  returned  to  Washing- 
ton, her  finished  education  and  family  distinction  made 
acquaintance  with  her  the  most  certain  means  of 
favorable  admittance  into  fashionable  society.  Two 
young  gentlemen,  whose  aspirations  were  most  ardent 
to  head  the  beau  monde,  sought  that  distinction,  by 
going  through  the  forms  of  a challenge  to  fight  a duel, 
upon  the  pretence  of  some  exceptionable  incident  in 
the  attentions  of  one  or  the  other  to  Miss  Long.  She 
married  Mr.  Thomas  Telfair,  the  son  of  Governor  Tel- 


230 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


fair,  who  was  afterwards  a member  of  Congress.  Mr- 
Telfair  is  now  dead.  Mrs.  Telfair  is  a most  amiable, 
benevolent  lady.  She  continues  to  live  in  Savannah, 
the  place  of  her  husband’s  birth,  residence,  and  death. 

Richard,  Col.  Long’s  oldest  son,  had  all  the  advan- 
tages which  education  at  the  best  literary  institutions 
could  give  him.  He  married  Miss  Hay,  a most  estima- 
ble young  lady,  the  daughter  of  Hr.  Hay,  and  niece  of 
Mr.  Felix  Gilbert.  He  practised  law  for  a while,  and 
represented  at  one  time  the  people  of  the  County  of 
Wilks  in  the  Legislature.  He  moved  to  Florida,  where 
he  and  his  wife  died  soon  after. 

Sarah  Rebekah,  Col.  Long’s  second  daughter,  was  a 
sensible,  well  educated  young  lady.  She  married  Mr. 
James  Rembert,  a respectable  gentleman,  who  was  more 
than  once  a member  of  the  Georgia  Legislature.  He 
moved  to  the  West.  He  is  now  dead.  Mrs.  Rembert 
resides  in  or  near  the  City  of  Memphis. 

Eliza,  Col.  Long’s  third  daughter,  married  Mr. 

Dubose.  She  is  dead. 

Eugenia,  the  fourth  daughter,  married  Mr.  Lock 
Weems.  Both  are  dead. 

John,  Col.  Long’s  youngest  son,  is  a wealthy, 
hospitable  gentleman.  His  residence  is  in  Washington 
County. 


PART  III. 


GEORGE  R.  GILMER. 


CHAPTER  I. 

I was  born  the  11th  of  April,  1190,  on  the  south  side 
of  Broad  River,  about  a mile  and  a half  above  the 
Fish  Dam  Ford,  in  that  part  of  Wilks  which  is  now 
Oglethorpe  County.  I have  often  been  a candidate 
for  public  office  during  great  party  excitement,  without 
obtaining  any  favor  for  being  a native  Georgian.  I 
was  believed  to  be  a Virginian,  as  all  my  immediate  an- 
cestors had  been. 

The  first  distinct  recollection  which  I have  of  my- 
self, was  my  confinement  in  bed,  by  an  attack  of 
bilious  fever,  and  slow  recovery.  I was  occasionally 
allowed  a grown  negro  woman  for  my  nurse,  who  was 
very  kindly  disposed.  She  amused  me  with  handfuls 
of  buckeye  seed.  I was  pleased  with  their  variegated 
colors,  and  first  learned  to-  count  with  them.  Grown 
people  were  usually  too  busy  then  providing  subsist- 


232 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


ence,  or  otherwise  bettering  their  condition,  to  attend 
to  children.  My  knowledge  of  numbers  extended,  and 
my  counting  abilities  made  quite  a noise  in  the  family 
circle.  When  company  came  to  my  father’s,  I was 
called  up,  to  add  and  multiply. 

When  I was  a child,  puddings,  pies,  and  sweet- 
meats were  great  rarities,  and  only  seen  at  the  tables  * 
of  our  people  when  visited  by  select  company.  I can 
recollect  my  great  impatience,  when  a small  boy,  be- 
cause the  company  at  my  father’s  remained  sitting  at 
table  chatting,  after  they  had  finished  their  meal,  and 
my  asking  Governor  Mathews  to  get  up. 

From  my  childhood,  I have  suffered  greatly  from 
headache  and  toothache.  There  was  some  defect  in 
the  organization  of  my  nervous  system,  from  which  I 
have  suffered  pain,  more  or  less,  every  day  of  my  life. 

My  father’s  children  would  have  had  good  consti- 
tutions, if  health  and  strength  had  resulted  from  fresh 
air  and  daily  labor.  We  rose  by  light  in  the  morning, 
and  busied  ourselves  at  some  busiuess  or  other.  Until 
I was  ten  years  old,  my  father  lived  in  a house  made  of 
hewed  logs.  I slept  with  a crack  at  my  back,  large 
enough  for  my  body  to  pass  through.  I went  bare- 
footed every  winter,  until  after  frost,  and  suffered  from 
it  more  than  my  father  thought  possible. 

My  first  schoolmaster  was  a deserter  from  the 
British  navy.  He  wrote  a good  hand,  and  I suppose 
could  read.  During  the  time  he  kept  school,  he 
secretly  entered  the  desks  of  several  of  his  employers 
in  search  of  money.  The  school-house  had  no  chim- 
ney. The  weather  was  occasionally  cold.  He  warmed 
his  scholars  by  making  them  join  hands,  and  run 
round,  whilst  he  hastened  their  speed  by  the  free  use 
of-  the  switch.  At  other  times  the  boys  were  paired 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


233 


off,  and  set  to  wrestling.  In  the  evening,  he  amused 
himself  by  threatening  to  fasten  them  up  in  the  school- 
house  until  the  next  day,  unless  they  would  give  some 
sufficient  reason  why  they  should  go  home.  Asking  a 
little  boy,  the  son  of  the  ferryman  on  Broad  River, 
where  he  got  the  mutton  he  was  eating  for  his  twelve 
* o’clock  meal,  he  answered  that  his  daddy  had  caught 
one  of  Mr.  Gilmer’s  sheep  in  the  brier  patch,  and 
killed  it.  The  deserter  was  driven  away  upon  the 
discovery  of  his  habit  of  thieving,  and  his  skill  in 
detecting  the  like  propensity  in  others. 

My  next  schoolmaster  was  William  P.  Culberson, 
a very  handsome,  gay  young  man,  from  North  Caro- 
lina. The  neighborhood  lost  his  services  at  the  end  of 
the  year,  by  his  marriage.  I liked  him  very  much, 
and  learned  from  him  how  to  read  with  pleasure. 

My  next  teacher  was  an  Irishman  by  the  name  of 
Nolan.  Wandering,  drunken  Irishmen,  were  the  only 
class  of  the  frontier  people  who  had  the  leisure  and 
requisite  knowledge  for  teaching.  Nolan  knocked, 
kicked,  cuffed,  and  whipped  at  a great  rate.  My 
brother  John,  and  George  Mathews,  two  very  smart 
boys,  were  sometimes  punished  ten  times  a day.  John, 
when  he  saw  Nolan  coming  towards  him,  expecting  to 
get  a pommelling,  would  set  as  lightly  as  possible 
on  his  seat,  so  that  the  first  knock  brought  him  to  the 
floor;  whilst  George  Mathews  would  drop  his  book, 
seize  hold  of  the  bench  with  both  hands,  aud  was  con- 
sequently cuffed  most  unmercifully  before  he  was 
brought  to  the  same  position. 

I happened  once  to  be  in  Jasper  Court,  when  Judge 
Strong  was  on  the  bench,  and  the  lawyers  arguing  a 
certiorari.  Nolan  had  sued  a widow  woman  for  a 
year’s  schooling  of  her  daughter,  who  had  been  taken 


2 Si  FIRST  SETT  LEE  5 OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 

from  school  before  the  term  teas  out.  A jury  had 
given  a verdict  for  the  widow.  and  Xolan  had  appeal- 
ed to  his  honor  to  correct  the  verdict.  The  jury  had 
found  against  Rolan.  because  he  had  knocked  the 
widow's  daughter  down  with  his  list.  I addressed 
Judge  Strong  in  favor  of  our  old  schoolmaster,  urging 
as  a reason  why  he  should  h e paid,  that  every  body 
who  sent  to  hi?  school  knew  when  they  did  so  his  way 
of  correction : that  his  honor's  head  could  prove,  that 
knocking  down  had  been  long  Rolan's  mode  of  punish- 
ment. 

My  next  teacher  was  CoL  Hobson,  an  old  Virginia 
gentleman,  who  had  emigrate!  to  Georgia,  because  his 
drunken  habits  had  lost  him  most  of  hi?  property,  and 
otherwise  disqualified  him  for  the  society  of  his  class. 
He  wrote  a good  hand,  and  could  cipher.  There  was 
a distillery  for  making  brandy  not  very  far  from  the 
schc  d-heuse.  During  play  time  he  would  sometimes 
go  over  t : it.  and  then  teaching  ended  for  that  day. 

My  next  schoolmaster  was  John  Rogers,  who  got 
drunk  every  Saturday  when  he  had  the  money,  and 
could  get  where  whiskey  was  sold.  My  next  was 
Charles  Goss,  a native  of  Elbert  Comity,  a sober,  in- 
dustrious, well-informed  man.  and  very  well  qualified 
in  every  way  for  his  employment.  From  that  time, 
the  teachers  of  country  schools  have  been  usually 
native  young  men.  Drunken  Irishmen,  instead  of 
occupying  the  best  situations,  are  now  from  necessity 
obliged  to  seek  a p ittance  among  those  who  will  not 
pay  common  wages. 

Many  years  afterwards,  an  old  man  trudged  his 
way.  shillelah  in  hand,  to  the  Broad  River  settlement. 
I was  present  at  my  father  s when  he  stopped  to  get 
food  and  rest.  He  wore  the  jump  jacket  of  the  last 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


235 


century,  and  carried  under  liis  arm  liis  first  manuscript 
ciphering  book.  He  had  taught  George  Mathews, 
then  Judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Louisiana,  Meri- 
wether Lewis,  who  first  explored  the  wilderness  terri- 
tory of  the  United  States  across  the  Rocky  Mountains 
to  the  Pacific  Ocean,  and  a few  other  boys  of  the  neigh- 
borhood about  their  age.  The  old  schoolmaster  had 
returned,  after  thirty  years’  tramping  hither  and 
thither,  to  seek  employment  of  his  former  patrons  and 
their  sons.  But  old  things  had  passed  away.  The 
school-house  had  rotted  dofon  ; most  of  those  who  had 
known  him  were  dead,  and  their  children  gone  to 
other  lands.  The  hickory  switch,  which  had  been 
held  up  perpetually  as  the  emblem  of  authority,  or 
plied  without  mercy  to  the  boys’  backs  and  legs,  had 
been  changed  for  milder  means  for  enforcing  knowledge. 
Printed  books  had  superseded  the  manuscript.  The 
old  field  schoolmaster  found  his  occupation  gone. 

I soon  acquired  a taste  for  reading.  There  were 
but  few  books  among  our  people.  My  father  paid  me 
for  picking  out  cotton  on  Saturdays  and  other  school 
holidays,  by  which.  I made  enough  to  buy  Hume’s 
History  and  Ossian’s  Poems.  My  older  brothers  at- 
tended to  my  father’s  business,  so  that  I had  leisure 
enough  to  study  my  books.  My  father  obliged  his 
sons  to  be  usefully  occupied  in  some  way.  He  was 
usually  content  when  I was  found  reading.  One  con- 
sequence of  the  different  habits  of  my  older  brothers 
and  myself  was,  that  they  were  excellent  riders,  whilst 
I was  quite  the  reverse.  This  deficiency  I have  often 
felt  since.  It  gave  rise  to  a nickname,  which  was  ap- 
plied to  me  for  many  years.  Soon  after  I learned  to 
read,  I found  in  Scot’s  Lessons  Cowper’s  John  Gilpin, 
and  was  so  pleased  with  it,  that  I learned  to  read  it 


236 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


well,  and  was  frequently  called  upon  to  amuse  family 
visitors  with  it.  Dr.  Tkorntou  Gilmer  was  at  my 
father's,  and  wanting  his  horse,  I went  to  the  pasture 
with  the  negro  boy  who  was  directed  to  catch  him. 
I was  put  upon  his  back,  without  saddle.  Being  a 
spirited  animal,  he  immediately  found  that  he  was  un- 
controlled, and  took  to  his  heels  most  vigorously  until 
he  got  to  the  gate  before  the  house.  My  hither, 
Dr.  Gilmer,  and  others  of  the  family,  being  then  at 
dinner,  upon  hearing  the  loud  clatter  of  horse’s  hoofs, 
ran  to  the  door  time  enough  to  see  me  come  up  without 
hat,  and  holding  hard  on  to  the  mane  with  both  hands. 
I had  just  before  been  showing  off  my  smartness  by 
reading  John  Gilpin.  All  cried  out,  when  they  saw 
my  rapid  approach,  Gilpin  ! Gilpin  ! 

When  I was  about  twelve  years  old,  my  brother 
Lewis  and  myself  went  to  Mr.  Wilson’s  select  classical 
school,  near  Abbeville  C.  H.,  South  Carolina.  This 
was  the  first  change  in  my  life.  Until  then  I had 
never  seen  any  people  but  Virginians,  and  of  them  few 
but  kinsfolk.  Mr.  Wilson  put  us  to  board  with  a 
family  of  Irish  people,  who  had  no  children.  The  old 
man,  his  wife,  and  two  nieces,  the  oldest  a very  pretty 
young  woman,  my  brother  and  myself,  slept  in  the 
same  room,  the  cabin  having  but  one.  It  was  difficult, 
at  first,  to  dress  and  undress  before  females.  We  eat 
mush  and  milk  once,  and  fried  meat  twice  a day.  On 
Sunday  mornings  we  had  hot  water,  colored  with  a 
grain  or  two  of  coffee.  My  father  was  a lover  of  good 
eating.  This  Irish  fare,  therefore,  went  hard  with  me 
for  a few  days.  It  was,  however,  soon  forgotten  when 
I became  interested  in  my  school  employments  and 
schoolfellows. 

Mr.  Wilson,  my  teacher,  was  one  of  the  most  fault- 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


237 


less  of  men.  During  the  ten  months  I went  to  his 
school  he  never  punished  a scholar  except  by  repri- 
mand, and  in  that  way  only  a few  times ; and  yet  his 
scholars  seldom  misbehaved,  and  their  advancement 
was  equal  to  what  was  made  at  any  school  I was 
ever  at. 

Mr.  Wilson’s  father  had  liberated  all  his  slaves. 
One  or  two  remained  with  the  son,  and  were  great 
scamps.  Mr.  Wilson,  in  endeavoring  to  enforce  the 
laws  of  South  Carolina  against  trading  in  slaves,  made 
himself  so  unpopular  that  he  removed  to  Ohio,  where 
he  was  put  at  the  head  of  a college.  Among  my  thir- 
teen schoolfellows  (that  being  the  number  to  which 
the  school  was  limited),  were  John  Bull,  Joseph  Berry 
Earle,  William  Taylor,  B.  Franklin  Whitner,  and 
Frank  Cummings,  all  of  whom  were  men  of  note  after- 
wards. 

Soon  after  the  breaking  up  of  Mr.  Wilson’s  school, 
I went  to  Dr.  Waddel’s  academy.  I boarded  with  an 
old  Scotchman  and  his  wife,  by  the  name  of  Suther- 
land. He  was  from  the  Orkney  Islands,  and  she  from 
the  town  of  Thurso  on  the  mainland.  They  had  been 
transferred  to  the  colonies  before  the  revolutionary  war 
by  Lord  George  Gordon,  who  paid  the  cost  of  their 
removal,  upon  their  giving  him  their  indenture  to 
serve  him  for  five  years.  He  settled  with  them,  and 
many  others  in  the  same  situation,  on  the  south  side  of 
Broad  River,  a mile  or  two  above  where  Col.  Taliafero 
afterwards  resided.  When  fighting  for  independence 
commenced,  Lord  George  Gordon  carried  his  people  to 
South  Carolina,  and  sold  them,  there  being  then  no- 
body in  Upper  Georgia  who  had  the  means  to  buy 
servants,  and  returned  himself  to  the  old  country  to 
serve  his  royal  master.  I have  endeavored  to  find  out 


238 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


whether  this  Lord  George  Gordon,  who  preceded  the 
Broad  River  people  in  their  settlement,  was  the  crack- 
brained  fanatic  of  London  riot  memory,  celebrated  by 
Sir  Walter  Scott  in  the  “ Heart  of  Mid-Lothian.”  I 
have  just  received  a letter  from  Grant  Thorburn,  now 
upwards  of  eighty  years  old,  informing  me  that  Lord 
George  Gordon,  the  fanatic,  was  somewhere  in  the 
Colonies  before  the  revolutionary  war.  Sutherland 
and  his  wife  were  purchased  by  Gen.  Perkins.  They 
lived  on  a small,  poor  piece  of  land,  in  a cabin  with 
two  rooms,  when  Dr.  Waddel  removed  his  school  from 
the  village  of  Vienna  to  their  immediate  neighbor- 
hood. 

I continued  for  several  years  with  Dr.  Waddel. 
He  persuaded  me,  when  I was  prepared  for  college, 
and  intended  going  to  Princeton,  to  continue  with  him. 
He  was  for  a long  time  the  most  useful  and  successful 
teacher  in  the  southern  country.  He  devoted  his 
whole  life  to  his  calling,  and  was  a most  admirable  ex- 
ample of  the  superiority  of  strong  sense  of  duty  and 
untiring  industry  in  the  employments  of  life,  over 
genius  and  accomplishments.  His  family,  who  were 
poor,  emigrated  from  Ireland  to  North  Carolina  before 
the  revolutionary  war.  They  lived  near  a school  where 
Latin  was  taught,  of  which  Moses  availed  himself  at  a 
very  early  age.  His  retentive  memory  enabled  him 
to  become  sufficiently  proficient  in  Latin  by  the  time 
he  wras  fourteen  to  aid  in  teaching.  The  highest  am- 
bition of  a poor  Irish  Presbyterian  is  for  his  oldest  son 
to  be  a preacher.  The  profits  of  teaching,  with  a little 
addition  from  his  father’s  means,  enabled  Moses  to 
pass  through  Hampden  Sydney  College,  the  most 
southern  institution  then  under  Presbyterian  direction. 
He  graduated,  and  prepared  there  for  the  ministry. 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


239 


Immediately  after  lie  was  licensed,  lie  travelled  as  a 
missionary  to  South  Carolina  and  Georgia.  He  was 
stout  and  well  proportioned,  with  a large  head,  strik- 
ing features,  and  cpiick  perceptive  faculties.  He  found 
a pleasant  home  during  his  sojourn  in  the  South  at  the 
house  of  Patrick  Calhoun,  whose  daughter  (the  sister 
of  the  distinguished  statesman,  John  C.  Calhoun)  he 
married.  He  settled  in  Columbia  County,  Georgia, 
where  he  taught  a classical  school  for  several  years. 
He  afterwards  removed  to  the  village  of  Vienna,  Ab- 
beville, and  from  there  into  the  country,  about  seven 
miles  distant,  where  he  taught  until  he  accepted  the 
presidency  of  Franklin  College.  When  he  was  ap- 
pointed to  that  office,  I was  requested  by  the  trustees 
to  accompany  Col.  Campbell,  one  of  their  body,  to 
urge  his  acceptance.  In  a few  years  Franklin  College, 
under  his  direction,  became  the  most  flourishing  lite- 
rary institution  in  the  Southern  States.  When  he 
took  charge  of  it  there  were  neither  funds,  professors, 
nor  students.  Some  years  after  the  college  commenced 
prospering,  one  or  two  of  the  trustees,  thinking  that 
Dr.  Waddel  had  done  all  the  good  which  he  was  fitted 
to  perform,  addressed  him  a letter,  in  which  they  ex- 
pressed the  opinion  that  it  was  time  for  him  to  yield 
his  place  to  some  one  of  more  distinguished  literary 
reputation.  He  sent  his  resignation  to  the  Senatus 
Academicus  at  its  next  meeting.  I was  then  a mem- 
ber of  that  body,  as  senator  from  Oglethorpe  County. 
The  resignation  was  received,  and  a motion  made  for 
adjournment,  when  I offered  a resolution  expressive  of 
the  high  appreciation  by  the  Senatus  Academicus  of 
Dr.  Waddel’s  value  as  president,  and  the  desire  of  that 
body  that  he  would  remain  at  the  head  of  the  college. 
The  resolution  was  adopted  by  nearly  a unanimous  vote. 


240 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


I doubt  whether  any  act  of  my  after  life  was  more 
cordially  approved  by  the  people  of  Georgia. 

I left  Dr.  Waddel’s  academy  before  I was  eighteen. 
Being  considered  too  young  to  enter  a law  office,  I 
taught  for  a year  my  younger  brothers  and  sisters,  and 
several  of  the  young  people  of  the  neighborhood. 


CHAPTER  II. 

When  the  year  of  my  school-keeping  closed,  I set 
out  upon  a travelling  excursion  to  Virginia.  A young 
man,  by  the  name  of  Muse,  who  had  been  keeping 
school  like  myself,  was  my  companion.  By  agreement, 
we  were  to  meet  at  Mr.  William  Barnett’s,  who  lived 
then  on  the  Savannah  River.  Mr.  Barnett  had  been 
my  father’s  neighbor,  was  his  kinsman,  and  very  good 
friend.  Muse  did  not  meet  me  at  the  time  appointed  : 
I had  to  wait  for  him  several  days.  I spent  the  delay 
in  courting  Mrs.  Barnett’s  daughter,  Martha  Bibb,  a 
young  lady  rather  younger  in  her  teens  than  myself. 
The  old  folks  of  both  families  had  taken  it  iuto  their 
heads  to  make  a match  between  us ; and  I suppose 
would  have  succeeded,  if  the  young  people  had  been 
particularly  attractive  to  each  other.  It  was  difficult, 
however,  to  pass  days  with  a very  pleasant,  familiar 
female  acquaintance  in  the  country — the  old  people 
keeping  out  of  the  way — without  saying  something 
that  one  of  the  parties  would  afterwards  wish  had 
never  been  said.  As  soon  as  Muse  joined  me,  we  set 
out  on  our  journey.  Among  the  matters  which  I 
recollect,  was  my  passing  a night  in  the  town  of  Char- 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


241 


lotte,  North  Carolina ; and  the  evening,  until  bed-time, 
with  a gold-digger — an  Englishman — who  had  been 
attracted  to  that  part  of  the  country  by  the  fame  of  the 
large  lump  of  gold  which  had  been  found  some  time 
before,  by  the  Reeds,  on  the  road  between  Charlotte 
and  Salisbury.  He  was  a very  conversable,  imagina- 
tive man.  When  he  left  the  room,  the  tavern-keeper 
informed  me,  that  he  had  been  seeking  for  gold  until 
he  had  spent  all  that  he  had,  and  only  put  on  clean 
clothes  by  going  to  bed  until  those  he  had  on  were 
washed.  I have  had  some  cause  since  to  recollect  this 
gold-digger,  and  his  passion  for  getting  gold  by  find- 
ing it. 

I travelled  with  my  companion  to  his  home,  in 
Amelia  County,  Virginia.  I went,  whilst  there,  to 
Amelia  Court,  saw  Benjamin  Watkins  Leigh — then  the 
most  promising  and  aspiring  young  man  in  the  Old 
Dominion — and  eat  oysters  at  the  tail  of  a cart,  after 
the  fashion  of  the  lower  Virginians. 

The  day  I left  Amelia,  I dined  at  Cumberland 
Court  House,  and  heard  electioneering  speeches  for  the 
first  time.  Cumberland  was  one  of  the  counties  of 
John  Randolph’s  district.  He  was  then  a candidate 
for  re-election.  His  opponent  was  using  all  the  means 
of  opposition  in  his  power,  before  the  adjournment  of 
Congress,  knowing  his  inability  to  contend  with  Mr. 
Randolph’s  extraordinary  talents  for  public  speaking. 

In  the  evening,  I went  on  my  journey  towards  the 
mountains.  Arriving  at  the  country  tavern,  where  I 
had  been  directed  to  stop,  I was  refused  admittance,  on 
account  of  the  sickness  of  the  family,  and  advised  to  go 
about  a mile  further,  to  where  a gentleman  resided, 
who,  I was  told,  wrould  receive  me  into  his  house  for 
the  night,  when  my  situation  was  made  known  to  him. 

16 


242 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


I accordingly  applied,  and  was  permitted  to  stay. 
Conversing  witli  my  host  during  the  evening  about  the 
mineral  waters  of  the  State,  I remarked  that  Mr. 
Lewis  of  the  Sweet  Springs  was  the  first  cousin  of  my 
mother.  The  gentleman  immediately  informed  me 
that  he  Avas  Dr.  Trent,  and  that  his  wife  Avas  the  sister 
of  Mr.  LeAvis,  and  my  mother’s  kinsAvoman.  I was 
most  hospitably  entertained  for  several  days.  Mrs. 
Trent  was  a very  pretty  and  accomplished  lady,  Dr. 
Trent  a cultivated  gentleman,  and  their  children  very 
beautiful.  I had  been  but  little  accustomed  to  the  so- 
ciety of  refined,  educated  people.  The  novelty  pleased 
and  excited  me.  I have  continued  ever  since  to  take 
great  interest  in  Dr.  Trent’s  family.  The  day  after  I 
left  Dr.  Trent’s,  I arrived  at  Charlottesville,  where  I 
found  Dr.  Marks,  the  half-brother  of  Meriwether  Lewis. 
I went  home  Avith  him,  and  spent  a week  at  his  mo- 
ther’s, Avho  was  the  sister  of  my  paternal  grandmother. 
During  the  week  I went  to  Monticello.  Mr.  Jefferson’s 
last  term  of  office  Avas  about  terminating.  Three  rooms 
of  his  house  were  left  open,  to  be  shown  to  strangers 
avIio  might  visit  the  place.  I saiv  there  statuary,  fine 
paintings,  and  a collection  of  Indian  works.  The  statu- 
ary Avas  very  beautiful : I could  not  be  satisfied  with 
looking  at  it.  The  paintings  did  not  at  all  equal  the 
expectations  which  my  scholastic  reading  had  excited. 
The  Indian  remains  were  singular  things.  Mr.  Jeffer- 
son’s  library-room  was  locked,  but  the  window-blinds 
were  thrown  back,  so  that  I could  see  several  books 
turned  open  upon  the  table,  the  inkstand,  paper,  and 
pens,  as  they  had  been  used  when  Mr.  Jefferson  quitted 
home. 

I Avas  in  Charlottesville  on  the  day  of  the  election 
for  members  of  the  Legislature  and  Congress.  It  was 

O O 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


243 


passed  in  listening  to  electioneering  speeches  from 
Judge  Carr  and  Mr.  Garland,  candidates  for  Congress, 
and  several  candidates  for  the  Legislature.  Baptist 
Billy  Woods  delivered  his  opinion  in  the  most  unique 
style,  for  one  who  was  seeking  to  legislate  for  a great 
State.  Billy  Meriwether  said,  some  of  his  neighbors 
had  insisted  upon  his  offering,  until  he  had  consented, 
and  took  his  seat, — the  shortest  speech  I ever  heard  on 
such  an  occasion,  and,  what  is  perhaps  worthy  of  re- 
membrance, the  speaker  was  elected,  whilst  Billy 
Woods,  who  held  forth  an  hour  or  two,  was  defeated. 

From  Mr.  Marks’s,  I went  over  the  Blue  Ridge 
Mountains,  accompanied  by  Dr.  Marks.  We  passed  up 
the  mountain  by  a new-made  road,  along  a considerable 
creek,  sometimes  travelling  in  its  bed,  crossing  and  re- 
crossing it  repeatedly.  The  view  from  the  top  of  the 
Blue  Ridge,  always  beautiful,  was  then  wonderful  to 
me,  who  had  never  before  seen  a mountain.  The  vast 
expanse  of  country  below — the  deep  blue  of  the  sky — 
the  varied  hues  of  the  forest  mingling  together  in  the 
distance — the  high  mountains,  away  beyond  the  valley 
in  the  west,  losing  their  inequalities  of  surface  in  the 
obscurity  of  the  view — made  impressions  upon  me 
which  still  remain.  I passed  that  evening  the  birth- 
place of  my  mother — then  the  residence  of  my  uncle, 
Charles  Lewis — and  arrived  at  Lethe,  the  birthplace 
of  my  father- — the  residence  of  my  uncle,  George 
Gilmer. 

I remained  two  months  at  this  beautiful  place,  with 
the  best  and  kindest  people  whom  I have  ever  known. 
The  house  was  of  brick,  situated  upon  the  descent  of  a 
hill,  about  three  hundred  yards  from  the  Shenandoah 
River,  which  was  seen  over  a beautiful  meadow,  and 
through  thinly  scattered  sycamore  trees,  flowing  away 


244 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


with  a strong  current.  From  the  top  of  the  hill,  back 
of  the  house,  might  be  seen  exceedingly  fertile  fields, 
inclosed  in  a semicircle,  formed  by  the  river,  and  moun- 
tains extending  in  every  direction.  In  the  middle  of 
the  valley,  between  the  North  Mountain  and  the  Blue 
Ridge,  rose  up  almost  perpendicularly,  and  to  a great 
height,  the  Peaked  Mountain.  In  a clear  day,  many 
excavations  were  visible  on  its  side.  Upon  inquiring 
about  them,  I was  informed  that  they  had  been  made 
by  the  neighboring  Dutch  people  in  search  of  hidden 
treasure.  A young  fellow  of  the  neighborhood,  whose 
father  was  a man  of  some  wealth  and  consequence,  had 
a club-foot,  and  was  made  a tailor  of,  as  fit  for  nothing 
else.  In  following  his  trade,  he  went  to  many  places, 
and  became  wise  in  the  ways  and  some  of  the  tricks  of 
the  world.  After  a while,  he  returned  to  the  neighbor- 
hood of  the  Peaked  Mountain.  The  Dutch  had  heard, 
and  were  credulous  enough  to  believe,  that  a wealthy 
lord,  who  was  one  of  the  first  settlers  of  the  Shenandoah 
Valley,  had  quitted  the  country  a long  time  before, 
and  returned  to  Germany,  and  left  his  money  behind, 
hid  in  the  Peaked  Mountain.  There  had  been  some 
effort  to  discover  the  treasure  by  digging  several  places 
in  the  mountain  side.  The  tailor  told  them  that,  in  his 
travels  through  Ohio,  he  had  been  in  a factory  of  spy- 
glasses, which  so  added  to  the  power  of  sight,  that  he 
could  see  several  feet  into  the  earth  with  one  of  them. 
Having  excited  great  interest  about  these  glasses  and 
the  hidden  treasure  by  his  tales,  he  proposed  to  the 
money-hunters  that,  if  they  would  make  up  a sufficient 
sum,  he  would  go  with  it  to  this  factory,  and  buy  them 
a glass,  by  which  they  could  find  the  concealed  gold. 

The  required  sum  was  collected,  and  the  tailor  went 
to  Ohio.  Upon  his  return,  he  informed  his  employers 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


245 


that  he  had  purchased  a glass  better  than  he  had  ever 
seen  before ; that  he  had  no  doubt  but  that  they  could 
have  seen  through  the  Peaked  Mountain,  if  he  could 
have  got  it  to  them ; but  unfortunately,  as  he  was 
travelling  home  with  it,  he  was  obliged  to  cross  a rapid 
run,  which  proved  more  swollen  than  he  supposed.  He 
was  washed  down  by  the  strong  current,  lost  his  saddle- 
bags, with  the  glass  in  it,  and  came  very  near  losing  his 
life.  Another  sum  of  money  was  made  up  with  which 
the  Irish  club-footed  tailor  left  the  neighborhood  of  the 
Peaked  Mountain,  never  again  to  be  seen  there.  He 
laid  out  the  money  in  the  purchase  of  a tract  of  land, 
whilst  some  had  theirs  sold  to  repay  the  money  which 
they  had  borrowed  to  supply  the  tailor  with  the  means 
to  buy  the  wonderful  glass. 

Whilst  at  Lethe,  I witnessed  an  electioneering 
scene,  equally  interesting  with  the  one  I had  been  pre- 
sent at  in  Charlottesville.  David  Holmes,  who  had  for 
twenty  years  immediately  preceding,  represented  in 
Congress  the  district  of  which  Rockingham  County  made 
a part,  had  been  appointed  Governor  of  the  Mississippi 
Territory  by  Mr.  Jefferson.  A new  member  had  to  be 
elected ; the  republicans  and  federalists  were  very 
equally  divided  in  the  district.  Mr.  Smith  (now  Judge 
Smith)  became  the  candidate  of  the  republicans,  and 
Jacob  Swope,  the  candidate  of  the  federalists.  The 
Virginians  vote  viva  voce.  The  candidates  seat  them- 
selves during  the  day  of  the  election  on  the  judge’s 
bench,  in  the  court-house,  and  as  each  voter  names  the 
person  for  whom  he  votes,  he  is  bowed  to,  and  thanked 
by  the  candidate  voted  for.  I was  in  Harrisonburg, 
the  court-house  town  of  Rockingham,  on  the  day  of  this 
election,  and  saw  Mr.  Smith  and  Swope,  thus  seated 
and  occupied.  Smith  was  of  an  old  Virginia  family ; 


246 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


Swope  was  German,  and  could  speak  tlie  German  lan- 
guage. The  farmers  of  the  county  were  mostly  Ger- 
mans ; the  lawyers,  doctors,  merchants,  sheriffs,  clerks, 
etc.,  were  Virginians.  Mr.  Smith  and  Swope  addressed 
the  people  on  the  party  topics  of  the  day,  British  orders 
in  council,  Napoleon’s  edicts  restricting  commerce,  the 
embargo,  and  anti-c'ommercial  system  of  Mr.  Jefferson. 
After  both  candidates  had  spoken,  Mr.  Swope  com- 
menced addressing  the  people  in  German,  in  reply  to 
Mr.  Smith.  A huge  old  German  man  rose,  and  in  bro- 
ken English,  said  Mr.  Swope  should  not  talk  German, 
because  Mr.  Smith  could  not  talk  German,  and  stopped 
Swope.  Mr.  Swope  was  a merchant,  a handsome  man, 
and  usually  well  dressed.  He  resided  in  Staunton, 
Augusta  County.  He  came  to  Kockingham,  dressed  in 
German  fashion.  The  German  succeeded,  though  the 
Smith  party  had  the  majority  in  the  district;  and  Mr. 
Smith  was  equal,  if  not  superior  to  Mr.  Swope,  in  qual- 
ifications for  Congressional  service. 

Going  from  Lethe  with  a pretty  cousin  to  visit  Mrs. 
Gabriel  Jones,  the  sister  of  our  common  grandmother,  I 
had  to  dismount  to  open  a gate  which  led  into  a large 
open  field  on  the  Shenandoah  Liver.  As  I was  rising 
in  the  stirrup  to  remount,  my  horse  started,  ran  at  full 
speed,  and  threw  me.  I fell  with  my  weight  bearing 
upon  my  right  hand  extended  to  break  the  force  of  the 
fall,  and  strained  my  wrist  so  badly,  that  the  injury  is 
still  felt,  adding  thereby  so  much  to  my  previous  ina- 
bility to  write  legibly,  as  often  to  bring  down  upon  me 
the  anathemas  of  my  best  friends. 

Whilst  in  Virginia  visiting  my  kinsfolks,  I went  to 
Richmond  to  gratify  my  desire  to  see  a large  town.  I 
arrived  there  on  Sunday.  I strolled  down  to  James 
River,  and  amused  myself,  among  other  ways,  with  look- 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


247 


ing  at  tlie  shad-catchers  standing  upon  the  rocks  in  the 
currents  of  the  falls  of  the  river,  throwing  their  scoop- 
nets  for  fish.  The  day  after  I went  to  the  Superior 
Court,  then  sitting  in  a room  in  the  Capitol,  and  heard 
the  celebrated  Edmund  Randolph,  previously  Secretary 
of  State  for  the  United  States,  defend  a criminal  ac- 
cused of  horse-stealing.  I saw  the  statue  of  Gen. 
Washington,  and  a bust  of  Marquis  Fayette.  During 
the  day,  I met  with  Mr.  John  Harvie,  whom  1 had  seen 
in  Rockingham.  Our  grandmothers  were  sisters.  He 
and  his  wife  were  on  a visit  to  his  mother,  the  widow 
of  Col.  John  Harvie.  I went  with  him  to  his  mother’s. 
In  the  evening,  Eliza  Grattan,  the1  daughter  of  Maj. 
Grattan,  of  Rockingham,  a little  girl  not  yet  in  her 
teens,  came  to  Mrs.  Harvie’s  to  see  me.  I pleased  her 
fancy  by  presenting  her  with  a most  beautiful  sash.  I 
heard  her  talk  and  laugh  for  the  first  time,  without  its 
entering  into  my  imagination  that  that  talk  and  laugh 
would  be  the  chief  solace  of  my  after  life.  She  was 
living  with  Mrs.  Wirt,  who  was  her  father’s  niece, 
attending  a school  for  young  ladies. 

The  day  when  I left  Lethe  to  return  to  Georgia, 
several  of  my  kinsfolks  accompanied  me  to  Wier’s  Cave, 
which  is  about  six  miles  from  my  father’s  birthplace, 
and  four  from  my  mother’s ; and  near  the  road  travel- 
led to  the  south,  in  a high  hill,  whose  base  is  washed 
by  the  Shenandoah  River.  Madison’s  Cave,  called  af- 
ter John  Madison,  whose  wife  was  my  grandmother’s 
sister,  is  in  the  same  hill.  Its  beauty  and  curiosities 
were  so  defaced  by  making  saltpetre  in  it  during  the 
revolutionary  war  that  it  attracted  then  but  few  visitors- 
There  is  a sheet  of  water  in  its  interior  of  so  great  depth 
that  Meriwether  Lewis  and  Maj.  Grattan  had  a small 
boat  carried  in  and  placed  upon  it.  They  attempted. 


248 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


with  the  aid  of  cords  to  find  the  bottom,  but  without 

success. 

Wier’s  Cave  was  discovered  by  a dog  pursuing 
some  animal  through  a hole  into  the  interior,  and  the 
Dutchman,  his  owner,  making  an  opening  after  him. 
That  ojiening  is  still  so  low,  and  so  confined  between 
masses  of  limestone  rock,  that  the  feeling  of  restraint 
comes  painfully  over  visitors,  as  they  pass  through  it. 
The  cave  extends  seven  or  eight  hundred  yards  into  the 
hill,  through  openings  filled  with  stalactitic  pillars. 
Some  of  the  walls  are  curtained  with  thin  folding  sheets 
of  rocks,  which  hang  down  to  the  bottom  from  roofs 
sixty  feet  high.  I have  been  in  Wier’s  Cave  several 
times  since  my  first  visit.  An  accident  happened  when 
I was  last  there,  which  has  effectually  cured  me  of  all 
desire  to  visit  it  again.  One  part  is  descended  by  a 
ladder  of  considerable  length.  Coming  to  this  descent, 
I assisted  my  wife  down,  placed  her  by  my  side  a step 
from  me,  turned  round  and  assisted  her  companions 
down.  When  I again  turned  to  where  I had  placed 
her,  she  was  not  to  be  seen.  I heard  her  moan  twenty 
feet  below.  There  was  another  descent  very  near  by, 
which  I had  not  observed.  In  stepping  back  she  had 
gone  over  the  precipice.  The  time  which  passed  from 
my  finding  her  gone  and  my  having  her  in  my  arms 
below,  was  a moment  of  doubt  and  dread.  She  has 
never  entirely  recovered  from  the  effects  of  that  fall. 

Soon  after  my  return  to  Georgia,  I commenced  the 
study  of  law  with  Mr.  Upson,  of  Lexington. 

During  the  Christmas  holidays  next  after,  I set  off' 
from  my  father’s  in  company  with  Daniel  Harvie,  to 
visit  my  brother-indaw  Warren  Taliaferro,  who  resided 
in  Pendleton,  South  Carolina.  I carried  a led  horse,  a 
present  from  my  father  to  Mr.  Taliaferro.  We  reached 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


249 


McDonald’s  Ferry,  on  tlie  Savannali  River,  just  at 
dark,  intending  to  g o to  a Louse  about  half  a mile  be- 
yond.  The  day  bad  beeu  unusually  warm.  The 
ferry-boat  was  scarcely  slioved  from  tlie  shore,  when  a 
violent  thunder-storm  came  on,  bringing  darkness, 
illuminated  by  flashes  of  lightning.  The  ferry-man 
was  an  old  diseased  foreigner,  then  nearly  drunk. 
My  saddle  horse  was  very  spirited,  and  the  one  which 
I led  had  never  been  on  board  a boat  before,  was 
young,  and  had  been  rode  but  little,  if  at  all.  I had 
to  stand  before  this  spirited  horse  and  the  unbroken 
one,  in  a crazy  boat,  directed  by  a drunken  ferry-man. 
It  required  all  my  strength  to  hold  the  horses,  as  they 
snorted  and  sprung  forward,  with  every  flash  of  light- 
ning. The  current  of  the  river  was  strong,  and  the 
boat  very  unsteady  under  the  guidance  of  the  old 
ferry-man.  Harvie  with  great  difficulty  kept  himself 
and  his  unruly  horse  aboard.  The  boat  got  entangled 
for  a wdiile  in  the  limbs  of  the  trees  and  bushes  which 
overhung  the  water  from  the  South  Carolina  bank, 
having  fallen  below  the  landing;.  The  rubbing;  of  the 
bushes  against  its  side,  increased  the  fright  of  the 
horses,  until  we  had  to  compel  the  ferry-man  to  stop 
its  motion.  We  remained  in  this  situation,  holding  on 
by  the  bushes,  until  the  storm  abated  and  the  moon 
rose.  The  ferry-man  then  got  into  a canoe  attached  to 
the  end  of  the  ferry-boat,  and  went  off  for  assistance. 
He  came  back  without  bringing  any.  By  this  time  it 
was  very  cold.  The  ferry-man,  whilst  he  was  gone,  lost 
the  chain  by  which  he  fastened  the  canoe  to  its  stay. 
He  declared  that  he  would  remain  where  he  was  all 
night  unless  we  took  his  canoe  into  the  boat.  The 
horses  had  by  this  time  become  somewhat  quiet.  So 
Harvie  and  myself  left  them  to  take  care  of  them- 


250 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


selves.  Harvie  was  very  strong,  ancl  I was  not  deficient 
in  that  way.  By  the  full  exertion  of  all  the  force  we 
had,  the  object  was  effected,  and  the  canoe  lay  by  the 
side  of  the  horses’  heads.  The  ferry-man  then  com- 
menced the  use  of  oars,  and  the  boat  slowly  ascended 
towards  the  landing.  We  had  proceeded  but  a little 
distance  when  Harvie’s  horse  was  jostled  into  the 
river.  The  water  was  deep,  and  the  horse  unable  to 
swim,  so  that  Harvie  had  to  hold  his  head  above  the 
water  to  prevent  his  drowning.  My  horses  became 
restless  and  uneasy.  Their  moving  about  knocked  one 
of  the  oars  off  its  stay,  so  that  it  was  lost.  There  was 
no  other  in  the  boat  to  supply  its  place.  Poles  were 
resorted  to,  and  for  a little  while  with  success.  But 
we  soon  got  to  water  so  deep  that  they  scarcely 
touched  the  bottom.  Whilst  struggling  to  push  the 
boat  up,  sometimes  touching  bottom  and  [sometimes 
not,  the  boat  became  fastened  on  a log.  Harvie’s 
horse  was  failing  in  his  strength,  and  he  and  I were 
failing  in  ours.  The  ferry-man  had  given  up  in  despair 
and  would  have  frozen  to  death,  but  that  we  threaten- 
ed to  thrash  him  if  he  did  not  work  enough  to  keep 
himself  warm.  Whilst  in  this  situation  we  could  hear 
very  near  us  the  roar  of  the  falls,  which  the  ferry-man 
informed  us  were  with  difficulty  passed  by  a boat  in 
the  daytime.  An  island  lay  in  the  middle  of  the  river, 
a little  below  where  we  were.  After  a while,  we  got 
the  boat  off  the  log,  and  made  for  this  island.  Nu- 
merous rocks  obstructed  the  boat’s  progress.  After 
many  hours’  hard  work,  we  got  within  reach  of  bushes 
growing  on  the  bank.  The  ferry-man  then  insisted  that 
we  should  put  his  canoe  into  the  water,  promising  that 
he  would  make  another  effort  to  procure  assistance. 
The  canoe  was  lifted  into  the  water.  He  got  into  it, 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


251 


went  off,  and  never  returned.  Before  lie  left  us,  lie  said 
that  there  was  a ford  across  the  river  from  the  island 
to  the  Georgia  shore.  We  succeeded,  after  a long  time, 
in  getting  Harvie’s  horse  off  the  rocks  into  the  boat. 
We  then  got  the  boat  close  up  to  the  bank.  My  horse 
in  springing  from  the  boat  to  the  bank  drove  the  boat 
off,  so  that  he  fell  into  deep  water.  He  made  several 
ineffectual  efforts  to  ascend  the  bank,  swam  down  the 
river  some  distance,  and  still  failing  to  get  up,  came 
back  to  the  boat.  The  bridle  reins  had  been  in  his 
way.  I cut  them  off.  He  then  succeeded.  After  the 
horses  were  landed,  we  went  round  the  island  in  search 
of  appearances  which  indicated  the  place  where  the 
river  had  been  forded.  We  found  tracks,  and  a path 
to  the  water,  in  one  place  only.  After  waiting  for 
some  time  for  the  return  of  the  ferry-man,  and  being 
almost  frozen  to  death  in  our  wet  clothes,  we  deter- 
mined to  try  the  ford.  As  Harvie  could  not  swim  and 
knew  nothing  of  the  management  of  his  horse,  so  as  to 
enable  him  to  swim,  I went  ahead.  The  water  was 
very  cold,  and  the  way  full  of  rocks.  The  horses  were 
sometimes  out  of  the  water,  and  then  plunging  into  the 
deep  current.  It  was  with  great  difficulty  that  I kept 
my  saddle,  and  held  on  to  the  bridle  of  my  led  horse. 
Each  moment  I expected  to  struggle  for  life  by  getting 
into  swimming  water.  We  continued  to  plunge  for- 
ward until  we  arrived  at  the  Georgia  bank.  Ascend- 
ing it  to  the  hut  of  the  ferry-man,  we  found  him  nearly 
frozen  to  death.  He  became  a cripple  for  life,  had  to 
quit  his  labor  at  the  oar,  and  get  his  bread  by  begging. 
It  was  less  than  an  hour  before  the  light  of  the  morning 
when  we  reached  the  ferry-man’s  hut.  We  dried  our 
clothes,  fed  our  horses,  and  set  off  at  sunrise  for  a ferry 
four  miles  above.  We  reached  my  brother-in-law’s 


252 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


late  in  tlie  evening.  I became  very  ill.  Harvie  re- 
turned to  Georgia  to  let  my  father  and  mother  know 
that  I was  probably  dead.  I got  home,  after  some 
time,  by  the  aid  of  my  oldest  brother,  who  had  joined 
me  for  that  purpose.  I resumed  my  law  studies,  and 
struggled  on  for  some  time,  endeavoring  to  overcome 
the  effects  of  disease.  It  was  all  in  vain.  I went  to 
my  father’s,  where  I passed  three  years  in  a listless, 
diseased  state. 


CHAPTER  III. 

Returning  home  in  October,  1813,  after  travelling 
for  some  months,  I received  a commission  of  first  lieu- 
tenant in  the  43d  regiment.  Dr.  Bibb,  whose  medical 
advice  I had  been  following,  was  then  in  Congress. 
He  obtained  this  commission  for  me  without  my  know- 
ledge, believing,  as  lie  said,  that  service  in  the  army 
would  probably  produce  some  change  in  my  diseased 
system  which  would  kill  or  cure  me.  Col.  Long,  of 
Washington,  Wilks  County,  was  commander  of  the 
43d.  I immediately  went  to  see  him.  He  advised  me 
to  accept  the  commission,  promising  that  he  would  give 
me  an  active  command  as  soon  as  possible.  I took 
quarters  at  the  barracks  near  Washington,  where 
Cajit.  Tatnall  was  then  stationed.  Our  acquaintance, 
and  subsequent  friendship,  was  the  happiest  result  of 
my  military  service.  Our  strong  regard  and  intimate 
intercourse  was  never  interrupted  for  a moment  during 
his  life. 

As  Soon  as  a few  recruits  were  collected,  an  order 
was  issued  by  Gen.  Pinckney,  then  in  command  of  the 


FIB  ST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


253 


Southern  army,  that  they  should  be  put  under  a suit- 
able officer,  and  sent  into  the  Indian  territory,  where 
active  hostilities  were  going  on  against  the  Creeks. 
I asked  for  the  command,  and  received  it.  I marched 
with  twenty-two  recruits,  without  arms,  except  refuse 
drill  muskets,  and  a small  quantity  of  loose  powder 
and  unmoulded  lead.  My  appointed  station  was  on 
the  banks  of  the  Chattahoochee,  about  thirty  or  forty 
miles  beyond  the  frontiers  of  the  State,  near  an  Indian 
town,  not  far  from  where  the  Georgia  Railroad  now 
crosses  the  Chattahoochee  River. 

It  was  an  awkward  business  for  one  who  had  only 
seen  a militia  muster ! who  had  never  fired  a musket, 
and  only  drawn  a sword  to  govern  men  who  knew  no 
part  of  their  duty.  I was  ordered  to  build  a fort. 
I had  never  seen  a fort,  and  had  no  means  of  knowing- 
how  to  obey  the  order  but  what  I could  get  from 
Duane’s  Tactics.  I went  to  work,  and  succeeded  very 
well,  so  far  as  I know,  or  any  one  else,  I suppose,  as 
the  strength  and  fitness  of  my  fortification  was  never 
tested. 

A few  days  after  my  arrival  at  the  standing  peach- 
tree,  a ruffian  Indian  fellow  came  into  the  camp  with 
some  fine  catfish  for  sale.  I had  supplied  myself  with 
hooks  and  lines  for  catching  cat  in  the  Chattahoochee 
before  I left  home,  and  had  baited  and  hung  them 
from  limbs  into  the  water.  I had  noticed  this  fellow 
the  day  before  gliding  stealthily  along  near  the  bank 
of  the  river,  in  a small  canoe,  where  the  lines  with 
baited  hooks  were  hung.  I intimated  to  him  that  the 
fish  he  was  offering  to  sell  were  taken  from  my  hooks. 
With  the  demoniac  looks  of  hatred  and  revenge,  he 
drew  his  knife  from  his  belt,  and  holding  it  for  a mo- 
ment in  the  position  for  striking,  turned  the  edge  to 


254 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


Ms  own  throat,  and  drew  it  across;  expressing  thus, 
more  forcibly  than  he  could  have  done  by  words,  his 
desire  to  cut  my  throat.  I never  saw  him  afterwards. 

One  night,  immediately  after  dark,  and  before  any 
preparations  for  defence  had  been  made,  the  Indian 
war-whoop  was  heard  several  times  in  different  direc- 
tions near  the  camp.  An  hour  or  two  after  I was 
roused  from  my  bunk  by  some  of  the  soldiers  rushing 
into  my  cabin  and  crying  out  that  the  Indians  were 
upon  us.  I found,  upon  jumping  up,  several  of  the 
Cherokee  men  of  the  town  mixing  with  the  soldiers, 
and  endeavoring  to  alarm  them  by  assuring  them -that 
a large  force  of  hostile  Creeks  were  close  by.  As  soon 
as  possible,  I had  a barricade  constructed  in  front  of 
the  ditch  which  had  been  dug  for  the  palisades  of  the 
fort.  In  this  ditch,  and  between  the  cabins  and  the 
barricade,  I stationed  myself  and  soldiers. 

The  Indians  went  off  in  the  direction  in  which  they 
reported  the  hostile  Creeks  to  be.  My  servant,  who 
had  been  drinking  and  was  very  much  alarmed,  went 
off  with  them.  In  a short  time  they  returned,  accom- 
panied by  their  women,  and  carrying  off  some  of  their 
goods  to  give  a show  of  reality  to  their  feint.  From 
the  report  of  my  servant,  and  the  entire  conduct  of 
those  who  had  thus  attempted  to  alarm  me,  I became 
convinced  that  their  object  was  to  make  me  leave  the 
country. 

At  the  first  cry  of  Indians,  the  workmen  employed 
in  building  boats  loosed  the  horses  from  the  wagons 
and  fled  towards  the  nearest  frontier  white  settlement. 
To  prevent  the  great  alarm  which  their  report  v’ould 
have  created  among  the  people  of  the  adjoining  terri- 
tory, I despatched  the  fleetest  runner  among  the  sol- 
diers after  them,  with  orders  to  pass  them  if  possible. 


FIKST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


255 


The  soldier  informed  those  that  had  fled,  as  he  passed 
them,  that  there  was  no  danger,  and  then  proceeded 
on  to  Jefferson,  the  court-house  town  of  Jackson 
County,  and,  through  the  letter  which  he  carried,  pre- 
vented the  depopulation  of  the  frontier. 

At  the  time  of  this  attempt  of  the  Indians  to 
frighten  me  out  of  their  country,  I had  not  received 
the  arms  and  ammunition  which  was  designed  for,  my 
command.  I used  bark  moulds  for  running  lead  into 
bullets  and  slugs,  and  the  paper  which  I had  carried  with 
me  for  my  own  use,  for  making  cartridges.  A wagon 
with  a supply  of  arms  was  within  twenty  miles  of  the 
encampment.  The  workmen  in  passing  it  so  fright- 
ened the  horses  that  they  broke  loose  and  fled,  so  that 
it  was  several  weeks  before  the  arms  were  received. 
Whilst  I was  still  unprepared  for  making  much  of  a 
fight,  I heard  one  day,  about  one  o’clock,  the  firing  of 
volleys  of  rifles  in  the  swamp  across  the  river  from  my 
camp.  After  calling  in  the  men  wdio  were  in  the 
woods  felling  timbers  for  picketing,  getting  the  drill 
muskets  in  the  best  possible  order,  and  putting  the 
men  in  a position  for  defence,  I ordered  a resolute  sol- 
dier to  cross  the  river  and  endeavor  to  find  out  what 
the  firing  meant.  He  saw  several  warriors  going  from 
cabin  to  cabin  of  the  town,  and  meeting'  the  men  and 
women  with  apparent  joy.  Soon  after  eleven  warriors, 
with  their  town  people,  came  to  the  camp  and  de- 
scribed to  me  exultingly  as  well  as  they  could  the 
battle  of  the  Horseshoe,  where  they  had  fought  under 
the  command  of  Gen.  Jackson.  They  brought  home 
eighteen  scalps.  The  night  after  the  day  of  their  ar- 
rival the  scalps  were  fastened  upon  the  top  of  a pole 
and  the  men,  women,  and  children  danced  around  it  all 
night.  I was  invited  to  attend  the  rejoicing.  I sent  a 
soldier  that  I might  be  informed  of  its  particulars. 


256 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


After  I liad  been  stationed  for  several  months  at 
the  standing  peach-tree,  I received  one  morning  a visit 
from  a young  Cherokee  lad,  who,  in  the  fulness  of  his 
anticipations  of  pleasure,  came  to  communicate  to  me 
the  secret,  that  at  twelve  o’clock  the  chief  men  of  the 
town  would  kill  two  hostile  Creek  Indians,  who  were 
in  huts  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river  with  a family 
akin  to  them.  I armed  myself,  took  with  me  a well- 
armed  soldier,  and  set  off  for  the  hut.  Upon  crossing 
the  river  I met  several  of  the  members  of  the  family 
with  whom  the  Creeks  intended  to  be  killed  were 
staying.  They  showed  great  distress.  A little  boy 
belonging  to  the  family  had  overheard  the  Clierokees 
talking  of  their  purpose,  and  had  given  information  to 
his  relations.  The  party  were  going  in  search  of  the 
head  of  their  family.  One  of  them  went  on ; the 
others  accompanied  me  back  to  their  cabin.  One  of 
the  Creeks  had  already  left,  and  the  other  soon  disap- 
peared, I did  not  perceive  where.  After  a good  deal 
of  difficulty  their  friends  found  them.  All  accompa- 
nied me  to  the  fort.  The  soldiers  were  put  under 
arms.  In  a few  hours  the  Cherokee  men  of  the  town 
arrived  at  the  fort.  They  were  directed  to  disarm 
and  enter.  After  some  hesitation  they  did  so.  The 
chiefs  were  invited  into  my  cabin,  where  the  Creeks 
were.  I knew  the  leader  well.  His  name  was  George 
Proctor.  He  was  one  of  several  brothers  and  sisters, 
the  children  of  a white  man  of  that  name,  and  an  In- 
dian squaw.  I told  Proctor  that  the  war  was  at  an 
end,  and  that  the  Creeks  were  not  to  lie  injured.  He 
answered,  that  the  Creeks  had  killed  his  brother,  and 
that  he  must  kill  a Creek.  He  was  the  most  respecta- 
ble man  of  the  town.  When  he  entered  my  cabin  his 
whole  appearance  was  altered.  His  usual  quiet  look 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


257 


liad  become  fixed,  intent,  and  demoniac.  His  clothes, 
thrown  back,  hung  loosely  about  him.  His  knife  was 
stuck  in  his  belt  ready  for  his  hand.  After  a long 
conversation  with  the  Cherokees  of  the  town  who  ac- 
companied the  Creeks,  Proctor  consented  to  defer  his 
revenge  until  a meeting  of  the  chiefs  of  the  Standing 
Peach-tree  and  two  or  three  chiefs  of  the  neighboring 
villages.  Upon  the  chiefs  assembling,  the  Creeks  were 
assured  that  they  would  not  be  injured. 

On  the  day  after  this  success  in  saving  the  lives  of 
two  hostile  Creeks,  I took  my  departure  from  the 
Standing  Peach-tree.  Upon  my  arrival  at  the  Wash- 
ington barracks,  where  Capt.  Hide  then  commanded,  I 
received  a furlough  for  some  weeks.  I passed  the  time 
most  pleasantly  with  my  family  friends  on  Broad 
Elver.  When  I returned  to  the  barracks,  I wrote  to 
Col.  Long,  reminding  him  of  his  promise  to  give  me 
active  service.  He  answered  that  I should  go  to  the 
seaboard,  then  threatened  by  the  British,  as  soon  as  I 
enlisted  twenty  men,  and  directed  me  to  seek  a favora- 
ble situation  to  effect  that  object.  I went  to  Carnes- 
ville,  Franklin  County,  carrying  with  me  a handsome 
young  recruit,  of  fine  spirit,  to  assist  me.  I issued 
circulars,  and  made  speeches,  but  all  in  vain.  The 
station  had  been  previously  occupied  by  an  officer  who 
used  means  fair  and  foul — the  people  said  the  latter 
oftenest — to  procure  men.  He  had  marched  off  thirty 
or  forty,  leaving  the  station  in  bad  repute  for  future 
recruiting  officers.  I obtained  two  recruits,  one  a ma- 
niac, and  the  other  a deserter.  My  time  passed  most 
unsatisfactorily.  It  was  once  relieved  by  the  arrival 
of  my  old  schoolmate,  A.  Longstreet.  We  spent  a very 
pleasant  evening  together,  and  separated  in  the  morn- 
ing, he  looking  for  land,  I to  attend  a regimental  drill. 

17 


258 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


The  assemblage  was  of  the  very  rudest  people  of  the 
country  towards  the  mountains.  I was  in  full  dress, 
and  soon  found  myself  a show.  The  people  formed  a 
circle  around  me  as  they  would  have  done  if  they  had 
been  looking  at  a bear  or  elephant.  I addressed  them 
upon  the  advantages  of  joining  the  regular  army. 
Finding  that  I talked  like  other  men,  they  soon  got 
near  enough  to  handle  my  sword  and  epaulets.  Even 
my  whiskers,  which  were  very  long  and  very  red,  did 
not  escape  their  fingering.  It  required  all  my  self-com- 
mand to  bear  up  under  such  an  infliction.  But  I did, 
and  as  I thought  when  it  was  over,  well ; certainly 
very  much  to  the  amusement  of  Longstreet  when  I 
described  it  to  him  that  evening1  when  we  again 
met  at  Carnesville.  I have  warned  him  against  mak- 
ing  a Georgia  scene  of  my  recruiting  efforts,  at  the 
Franklin  regimental  muster. 

Finding  myself  entirely  unfit  for  the  recruiting 
service,  I applied  to  Maj.  King  for  the  appointment 
of  adjutant  at  Columbia,  South  Carolina.  The  duty 
of  that  office  was  to  take  charge  of  the  new  recruits  of 
the  regiment,  and  prepare  them  for  service.  The 
appointment  was  given  me.  I went  to  Washington 
barracks,  for  the  purpose  of  marching  the  recruits  who 
were  there  to  Columbia,  South  Carolina.  Whilst  I was 
at  Washington  news  of  peace  was  received.  I went  to 
Columbia,  and  spent  some  time  discharging  the  duties 
of  drill  adjutant,  but  with  little  interest. 

War  having  been  declared  by  the  Government 
against  Algiers,  I applied  to  Dr.  Bibb,  to  procure  for 
me  a commission  in  the  marine  corps.  My  service  in 
the  army  had  not  improved  my  health.  I was  desirous 
of  trying  the  effect  of  a campaign  on  the  ocean.  My 
application  was  not  successful.  I returned  home,  and 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


259 


remained  with  my  father,  whose  health  was  then  very 
bad,  until  he  died.  In  the  beginning  of  1818,  I went 
to  Lexington  and  commenced  the  practice  of  law.  I 
soon  found  that  the  excitement  of  business  did  less  in- 
jury to  my  health  than  the  listlessness  of  inaction. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Whilst  I ivas  temporarily  absent  from  Lexington,  a 
short  time  before  the  day  for  electing  members  of  the 
Legislature,  it  was  determined  by  some  of  the  leading 
politicians  of  the  county  that  I should  be  a candidate. 
The  people  of  Georgia  were  then  divided  into  the 
Crawford  and  the  Clark  parties.  The  Crawford  party 
were  principally  composed  of  Virginians  who  had  emi- 
grated to  Georgia  after  the  revolutionary  war;  the 
Clark  party  of  Europeans  and  North  Carolina  people, 
who  had  settled  in  Georgia  before  that  time.  They 
were  very  unindulgent  to  each  other’s  faults,  as  most 
factions  are  when  formed  upon  personal  differences 
rather  than  political.  I was  a friend  of  Mr.  Crawford’s. 
On  the  morning  of  the  election,  two  or  three  of  my 
neighbors  insisted  that  I should  decline  being  a candi- 
date, on  account  of  the  strong  opposition  which  had 
been  excited  against  me  by  charges  industriously  and 
secretly  circulated  by  a partisan  of  the  Clark  party. 
Pleasant  Compton,  Mr.  Princes,  Capt.  Clodpole,  then 
sheriff  of  the  county,  a very  large,  blunt-spoken  man, 
took  me  by  the  arm,  and  insisted  that  instead  of  with- 
drawing, I should  vindicate  myself,  and  leading  me  to 
the  door  of  the  tavern,  cried  “ O yes ! O yes  ! all  you 


260 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


who  want  to  hear  a speech,  come  here.11  I accordingly 
addressed  the  people.  The  greatest  excitement  against 
me  proceeded  from  my  opposition  to  private  banks, 
an  appropriation  by  the  preceding  Legislature  for  the 
education  of  the  poor,  and  my  advocation  of  academies 
and  colleges.  At  that  time  there  were  eleven  persons 
in  Oglethorpe  County  issuing  charge  bills,  as  they  were 
called,  notes  for  circulation  under  the  sum  of  one  dollar. 
Many  persons  in  other  parts  of  the  State  were  putting 
into  circulation  bills  for  sums  of  any  amount  which  they 
could.  I stated  to  the  people,  that  what  had  been 
said  of  my  opposition  to  private  banking,  was  true ; 
and  that  if  elected  I would  if  possible  put  an  end  to 
what  I considered  a great  evil.  I acknowledged  the 
truth  of  what  had  been  said  about  my  opposition  to 
the  poor  school  fund,  and  the  support  which  I wished 
the  State  to  give  to  academies  and  colleges.  At  the 
previous  session  of  the  Legislature,  an  appropriation  of 
$500,000  had  been  made  for  educating  the  poor  of  the 
State.  I announced  that,  if  elected,  the  first  motion 
which  I would  make  in  the  Legislature  should  be  to 
repeal  that  appropriation ; and  attempted  to  prove 
(and  I suppose  did  so  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  people) 
that  the  interest  of  $500,000  would  not  build  and  keep 
in  repair  school-houses  for  the  poor  over  the  large 
territory  of  the  State,  and  that  the  money  instead  of 
being  expended  for  the  benefit  of  the  poor,  would  be 
used  for  their  own  benefit,  by  the  irresponsible  agents 
into  whose  hands  it  would  pass.  Whilst  I was  answer- 
ing a charge  of  Federalism,  I observed  Solomon  Jen- 
nings and  Turner  Idamner,  friends  from  Broad  River, 
listening.  I pointed  them  out  to  the  peojfie,  stating 
that  they  had  known  me  from  infancy,  had  met  me 
for  years  at  the  neighborhood  post-office,  heard  me 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


261 


discuss  politics,  and  could  say  whether  the  charge  was 
true  or  false.  They  cried  out  “ false  ! false  ! ” I was 
elected  triumphantly. 

The  embargo,  non-intercourse,  and  war  measures,  so 
reduced  the  price  of  agricultural  products,  and  lessened 
the  ability  of  the  people  to  pay  their  debts,  as  to  induce 
the  Legislature  of  Georgia  to  pass  laws  preventing  the 
collection  of  debts  by  legal  process.  These  alleviating 
or  stop  laws,  were  so  popular,  that  very  few  counties 
were  represented  in  the  Legislature  for  many  years,  by 
members  opposed  to  them.  It  was  long  before  the 
advocates  of  these  measures  ceased  to  control  the  gov  - 
ernment. of  the  State.  They  were  still  in  the  majority 
at  the  session  in  1818,  when  I was  first  a member. 
Ben  Williams  was  elected  speaker  by  every  vote  but 
mine  and  one  other.  He  was  scarcely  able  to  read  or 
write,  was  a cut-and-shuffle,  three-up  card-playing, 
brandy-house  bully,  utterly  devoid  of  honesty,  of  large 
brawny  body,  and  powerful  fisticuff  fighting  capacity. 

In  1808,  Winfield  Hamuer  of  Broad  River,  in  Ogle- 
thorpe County,  purchased  of  the  State  fractions  285 
and  292  in  Putnam  County  for  upwards  of  $2000,  pay- 
able in  four  instalments.  His  father,  Richardson  Ham- 
ner,  was  his  security  for  the  payment  of  the  purchase 
money,  which  was  further  secured  by  a mortgage  lien 
retained  by  the  State  on  the  fractions.  Winfield  Harm 
ner  was  a very  handsome,  spendthrift  fellow,  with  a 
wife  very  much  like  himself.  He  provided  no  means 
for  paying  the  State,  and  before  any  steps  were  taken 
to  enforce  collection,  had  nothing  to  pay  with.  In 
1817,  Winfield  Hamner  became  indebted  to  Ben  Wil- 
liams for  a small  amount,  was  sued  in  the  Justice’s  Court 
of  the  district  in  Putnam  County,  where  both  resided, 
a judgment  obtained,  and  the  fi.  fa.  founded  upon  it 


262 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


illegally  levied  by  Ben  Williams’s  order  upon  fractions 
285  and  292.  Williams  purchased  the  fractions  for 
$26,  subject  to  the  lien  of  the  State.  Winfield  Ham- 
ner’s  debt  to  the  State,  was  then  less  than  $4000. 
Williams  soon  after  sold  the  fractions  for  $5000,  con- 
ditioned that  he  freed  the  land  from  the  mortgage  lien 
of  the  State.  To  do  this  he  applied  to  Gov.  Rabun  in 
1818,  who  in  his  official  capacity  had  the  collection  of 
the  State  debt  against  Harnner,  for  assistance.  Gov. 
Rabun  gave  the  following  order  : 

“Executive  Department,  Milledgevillc,  22  Oct.  1818. 

Ordered,  that  Benjamin  Williams,  Esq.  be,  and  is  hereby 
authorized  to  attend  the  sale  of  property  now  advertised  by  the 
sheriff  of  Jasper,  Morgan  and  Oglethorpe  Counties,  whereon 
the  treasurer’s  execution  has  been  levied  to  satisfy  the  first, 
second,  third  and  fourth  instalments  due  the  State,  on  account  of 
the  sale  of  fractions,  Nos.  292  and  285  in  the  fourteenth  district 
of  Baldwin,  now  Putnam  County  ; and  that  he  be  authorized  by 
himself  or  his  attorney  to  bid  in  behalf  of  the  State  for  the  pro- 
perty so  levied  on. 

Albert  Edw.  Cary,  Sect.  E.  D. 

The  Governor  put  into  Williams’s  hands  the  fi.  fas. 
issued  for  the  collection  of  the  several  instalments.  By 
a provision  of  the  law  directing  the  sale  of  the  fractions, 
all  the  property  of  the  principal  and  securities  was 
made  liable  for  the  payment  of  the  purchase  money. 
Williams  attempted  to  avail  himself  of  this  provision, 
to  relieve  the  fractions  from  the  State’s  lien  by  collect- 
ing the  State’s  debt  out  of  the  property  of  Richardson 
Harnner,  the  security  for  Winfield  Hamner,  who  had 
died  soon  after  he  became  security  for  his  son,  viz.,  in 
1809,  and  before  any  fi.  fas.  had  or  could  have  issued. 
Upon  obtaining  this  order  and  possession  of  the  fi.  fas., 
Williams  came  to  Oglethorpe  County,  and  caused  the 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


268 


fi.  fas.  to  be  levied  on  the  property  which  had  belonged 
to  B.  Hamner  at  his  death,  and  was  then  in  the  posses- 
sion of  those  who  had  purchased  it  at  the  sale  of  his 
effects ; and  two  negroes  in  the  possession  of  Levi 
Jennings,  the  son-in-law  of  R Hamner,  which  he  had 
received  for  his  distributive  share  of  his  father-in-law’s 
estate. 

The  parties  interested  applied  to  Mr.  Upson  and 
myself  for  professional  assistance.  Mr.  Upson  declined 
on  account  of  its  interference  with  his  other  business  : 
the  defence  of  the  rights  of  the  parties  devolved  upon 
me  alone.  I had  commenced  the  practice  of  law  but  a 
few  months  before.  But  the  parties  were  Broad  Biver 
people,  my  father’s  neighbors,  whom  I had  known  from 
childhood.  The  one  most  interested,  was  Wm,  P. 
Culberston,  who  had  been  my  first  good  country  school- 
master. I undertook  with  a zeal  seldom  felt  by  law- 
yers for  their  clients.  I caused  affidavits  of  illegality 
to  be  made  by  the  parties,  setting  forth  specially,  that 
R Hamner  had  died  before  the  date  of  the  executions. 
These  affidavits  caused  the  sheriff  of  Oglethorpe  to  sus- 
pend proceedings  upon  the  fi.  fas.  I was  then  a mem- 
ber elect  of  the  Legislature.  I carried  the  affidavits  of 
illegality  to  Milledgeville,  and  laid  them  before  Gov. 
Babuii,  and  urged  him  to  withdraw  the  levy  upon  the 
property  which  had  belonged  to  R Hamner.  A day 
or  two  before  the  termination  of  the  session  of  the 
Legislature,  Gov.  Babun  gave  Williams  and  myself  a 
hearing  upon  the  case  in  the  Executive  office.  The 
result  of  the  meeting  was,  that  on  the  day  of  the 
adjournment  of  the  Legislature,  Williams,  the  speaker 
of  the  House,  and  his  brother  the  doorkeeper  of  the 
Senate,  waylaid  me  in  the  streets  of  Milledgeville  for 
the  purpose  of  doing  me  some  great  personal  injury.  I 
happened  to  pass  another  way. 


264 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


The  Governor  ordered  the  sheriff  to  suspend  pro- 
ceedings upon  the  levy  in  Oglethorpe.  A day  or  two 
after  the  adjournment  of  the  Legislature,  Williams,  not 
knowing  of  the  Governor’s  order,  wrote  to  the  sheriff, 
Compton,  giving  him  a false  statement  of  what  had 
passed  in  the  Executive  office,  and  offered  him  a bribe 
of  one  hundred  dollars  if  he  wrould  proceed  to  sell 
under  the  levies  which  he  had  made.  Compton’s  reply 
was  “ that  it  was  unnecessary  to  offer  him  a bribe  to  do 
his  duty,  and  if  it  was  not  his  duty  he  would  not  do  it 
at  all.” 

Upon  my  return  home  from  Milledgeville,  I pro- 
ceeded, at  the  suggestion  of  the  Governor,  to  procure 
further  evidence  of  the  truth  of  the  facts  set  forth  in 
the  affidavits  of  illegality.  Several  letters  passed  be- 
tween Gov.  Rabun  and  myself  upon  the  subject.  I 
finally  threatened  him  with  impeachment.  I wrote  an 
account  of  the  case,  and  sent  it  to  Mr.  Grantland,  the 
Editor  of  the  Journal,  for  publication.  Mr.  Grantland 
answered  that  he  had  sold  his  interest  in  the  Journal, 
so  that  the  publication  was  not  made. 

I addressed  the  following  letter  to  the  Governor : 

Lexington,  Jan.  30 th,  1819. 

To  his  Excellency  William  Rabun, 

Yours  of  the  20th  inst.  has  just  been  received.  It  is  with 
extreme  regret  that  I again  trouble  you  with  my  remarks  on  the 
subject  of  the  case  of  the  State  against  W.  and  R.  Hamner.  If 
trouble,  perplexity  and  labor,  would  have  stopped  my  exertions, 
they  would  have  ceased  before  this.  But  I feel  that  I am  con- 
tending for  justice,  and  legal  right,  in  opposition  to  fraud  and 
oppression,  defending  the  poor  and  honest,  against  the  arts  of  the 
cunning  and  powerful ; and  endeavoring  to  prevent  the  State, 
in  the  exertion  of  its  power,  from  ruining  several  individuals  to 
enable  one  to  make  a very  profitable  and  dishonest  speculation. 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


265 


Your  Excellency  will  permit  me  to  say,  that  I cannot  but  feel 
something  more  than  astonishment  at  the  contents  of  the  letter 
just  received.  Your  Excellency,  after  you  were  informed  truly 
of  the  facts  relating  to  this  case,  did  not  doubt  as  to  the  course 
you  would  pursue.  During  the  session  of  the  Legislature,  you 
informed  me  that  you  only  delayed  making  the  necessary  orders 
to  stop  the  proceedings  against  the  parties  in  this  County,  be- 
cause Williams  had  informed  you,  that  the  persons  who  had 
sworn  to  the  time  of  R.  Hamner’s  death  were  not  to  be  believed, 
and  that  Hamner  did  not  die  until  some  time  after  the  date  of 
the  executions  which  had  been  levied  on  the  property  which  was 
once  his.  After  Mr.  Luckie,  Herdspeth  and  Pope,  who  were 
members  of  the  Legislature  from  Oglethorpe,  informed  you  of 
the  respectability  of  the  deponents,  you  stated  to  me  that  I 
should  receive  the  order  for  stopping  further  proceedings  before 
the  termination  of  the  session.  When  I went  into  the  Executive 
office  on  Friday  of  the  last  week  of  the  session,  you  stated  to 
me,  that  the  office  was  so  crowded  with  business,  that  the  order 
could  not  then  be  made  out,  but  should  be  transmitted  to  me 
when  I returned  to  Oglethorpe,  requesting  at  the  same  time, 
that  some  additional  testimony  should  be  obtained,  to  be  filed  in 
your  office  in  proof  of  the  time  of  R.  Hamner’s  death.  When 
the  most  indisputable  testimony  was  obtained  and  placed  in  your 
possession,  it  seems  to  have  produced  a strange  effect.  Whilst 
it  has  drawn  from  you  the  acknowledgment  that  the  property 
levied  on  in  this  county  is  not  liable  to  pay  the  debt  of  the  State, 
it  has  changed  your  purpose  to  relieve  that  property  from  legal 
process,  and  determined  you  to  pursue  it,  compelling  the  parties 
interested  to  all  the  trouble,  expense,  and  uncertainty  of  a law- 
suit. Your  Excellency  ascribes  this  change  in  your  intention 
to  the  want  of  power,  the  case  having  become,  as  you  say,  a 
judicial  question.  Permit  me  to  inform  you,  of  what  I had  the 
honor  personally  so  often  to  do,  that  the  case  has  not  become  a 
judicial  question,  and  never  will,  unless  you  compel  the  parties 
to  apply  to  the  courts  to  obtain  justice.  I know  not  to  whom 
you  applied  for  legal  counsel.  I will  say,  that  they  were  either 
influenced  by  the  persons  concerned  in  the  case,  or  that  the  case 
was  very  improperly  stated  to  them.  Presuming  the  last  to  be 
the  fact,  and  that  the  statement,  so  far  as  it  was  incorrect,  was 
unintentional  on  your  part,  I will  endeavor  to  state  it  truly. 


266 


FIKST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


On  the  twenty-sixth  of  May,  an  execution  issued  from  the 
treasury  office,  directed  to  the  sheriff  of  Oglethorpe  County, 
against  Winfield  & Richardson  Hamner,  which  execution  came 
to  the  hands  of  the  sheriff  of  Oglethorpe  on  the  tenth  of  Sep- 
tember thereafter,  and  was  levied  on  a negro  woman  belonging 
to  Swepson  Taylor,  and  afterwards  upon  a negro  fellow  claimed 
by  Levi  Jennings,  and  a tract  of  land  claimed  by  Solomon  Jen- 
nings and  John  McCown.  All  of  these  parties  claimed  the  pro- 
perty levied  on  as  theirs,  and  in  their  possession,  and  gave  their 
bonds  to  the  sheriff  to  abide  the  decision  of  the  proper  authori- 
ties. Soon  afterwards  the  sheriff  discovered  that  the  execution 
had  not  come  into  his  hands  until  after  the  three  months  had  ex- 
pired by  which  the  execution  became  void,  and  that  he  was 
responsible  individually  for  the  amount  to  be  collected  by  it. 
He  then  gave  up  to  the  parties  their  bonds,  and  took  new  bonds 
to  abide  your  decision  (which  last  bonds  were  improperly  re- 
quired by  the  sheriff  of  the  parties,  and  without  legal  counsel), 
and  declined  making  any  entry  of  the  levies  on  the  execution  as 
having  been  illegally  made,  and  transmitted  it  to  your  office  as 
the  law  required.  The  affidavits  of  illegality  which  accompanied 
the  execution,  were  made  out  for  the  purpose  of  stopping  the 
sale  previous  to  the  discovery  that  the  levy  itself  was  illegal, 
and  were  afterwards  sent  to  you,  that,  from  a knowledge  of  the 
circumstances  of  the  case,  you  might  he  induced  to  refrain  from 
oppressing  the  parties,  by  levying  on  their  property,  when  it 
was  not  liable  to  that  process. 

I think  it  very  probable  that  these  affidavits  of  illegality 
have  been  the  cause  of  the  erroneous  opinion  given  to  you  by  the 
legal  counsel  with  whom  you  advised.  They  were  forwarded  for 
your  information,  and  not  your  decision.  This  is  a true  state- 
ment of  the  case,  as  you  were  informed  by  the  letter  of  the 
sheriff  of  Oglethorpe  County,  sent  to  you  at  the  same  time  with 
the  execution  which  he  returned  to  the  treasury  office. 

Your  Excellency  will  permit  me  to  express  my  surprise,  that 
you  should  disclaim  the  power  to  control  the  executions  issued 
from  the  treasury  office  against  debtors  of  the  State  for  the  pur- 
chase of  fractions.  Suffer  me  to  remind  you,  that  an  execution, 
issued  the  17th  of  June,  1817,  for  $525,25,  exclusive  of  interest, 
being  the  fourth  instalment  of  W.  Hamner’s  debt,  was  placed  in 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


267 


the  hands  of  the  sheriff  of  Putnam  County,  and  levied  by  him 
on  the  fractions  285  and  292,  by  your  directions  ; and  that  this 
execution,  at  the  request,  and  for  the  benefit  of  Mr.  Williams, 
was  withdrawn  by  you.  The  same  execution,  only  renewed,  you 
ordered  to  he  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  sheriff  of  Oglethorpe 
County.  It  is  now  in  his  possession,  and  is  the  very  execution 
which  you  are  refusing  to  withdraw.  I will  say,  that  it  was 
legal  for  you  to  withdraw  an  execution  out  of  the  hands  of  the 
sheriff  of  Oglethorpe  County,  by  whom  no  levy  has  been  made, 
more  especially  as  the  three  months  have  expired  during  which 
the  levy  ought  to  have  been  made,  and  as  the  property  upon 
which  you  intended  it  should  be  levied  you  acknowledge  you 
think  not  to  be  liable  to  levy.  It  appears  to  me  that  you  have 
as  much  power  to  withdraw  an  execution  only  designed  to  be 
levied  on  property  which  once  belonged  to  R.  Hamner,  as  you 
had  to  withdraw  an  execution  actually  levied  on  property  claimed 
by  Mr.  Williams.  I know  not  how  it  happens  that  you  should 
have  exercised  a power  for  the  benefit  of  Mr.  Williams,  which 
power  should  have  ceased  to  exist  when  you  are  called  upon  to 
exercise  it  in  opposition  to  his  interest,  and  for  the  benefit  of  the 
State.  Hitherto  I was  ignorant  that  there  was  a difference  be- 
tween the  rights  of  citizens.  I will  only  observe  that  the  execu- 
tive officer  who  dares  make  that  distinction  dares  greatly.  As 
evidence  how  large  executive  powers  are  when  exercised  in  favor 
of  Williams,  I transmit  to  you  the  copy  of  an  order  issued  from 
the  Executive  Office,  which  is  so  extraordinary  that  I am  strong- 
ly induced  to  believe  it  a forgery. 

That  the  Executive  should  authorize  any  one  to  purchase 
lands  and  negroes  for  the  State,  is  novel  indeed.  As  this  order 
is  not  immediately  connected  with  the  subject  of  my  letter,  I 
should  not  have  mentioned  it,  but  that  I am  anxious  to  know  of 
its  authenticity. 

This  subject  will  be  investigated  before  a different  tribunal 
than  the  Superior  Court. 

Finally,  permit  me  to  say,  that  there  is  a plain  and  obvious 
course  to  be  taken.  Permit  the  execution  for  the  first  instal- 
ment to  remain  in  your  office,  and  not  again  sent  to  this  county ; 
and  withdraw  the  execution  for  the  fourth  instalment,  which  is 
now  in  the  hands  of  the  sheriff,  and  never  levied,  but  suspended 


268 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


by  your  order.  If  you  intend  to  collect  the  debt  due  the  State, 
the  executions  from  Morgan  and  Jasper  must  also  be  recalled — 
for  they  also  are  levied  on  property  not  liable.  There  is  no 
property  which  is  liable,  except  the  fractions  285  and  292,  as 
far  as  I can  ascertain, — W.  Hammer,  the  State  debtor,  owning 
no  property  at  all.  If  one  execution,  and  not  all,  is  sent  to  Put- 
nam, the  land  will  be  sold,  and  the  State  never  receive  but  one 
instalment.  If  the  fractions  should  be  sold  to  pay  the  whole 
debt  due  the  State,  Williams  will  still  make  a speculation  of 
$1500  or  $2000.  I think  that  numerous  citizens  should  not  be 
driven  to  the  trouble,  expense,  and  uncertainty  of  a lawsuit,  to 
protect  themselves  from  the  means  used  by  the  Executive  to 
enable  Williams  to  make  a speculation  of  $5000  or  $6000.  As 
you  state  that  the  only  reason  why  you  did  not  pursue  the 
course  above  advised,  is  that  the  case  has  become  a judicial 
question,  I must  again  assure  you  that  such  is  not  the  fact. 
And  to  convince  your  Excellency  that  this  statement  is  the 
truth,  permit  the  case  to  remain  as  it  is,  and  the  parties  in  this 
county  will  be  satisfied.  Suffer  the  execution  which  is  now  in 
your  office  (which  was  returned  by  the  sheriff  because  it  came  to 
his  hands  after  the  expiration  of  three  months)  to  remain  there, 
and  the  execution  now  in  his  hands,  suspended  by  your  order,  to 
remain  so,  and  issue  no  more  executions  for  the  particular  benefit 
of  Williams  ; but  order  the  property  to  be  levied  on  which  is 
known  to  be  liable  and  sufficient  to  pay  the  State’s  debt,  without 
any  regard  to  the  persons  holding  it,  and  you  will  hear  no  more 
from  me. 

George  R.  Gilmer. 

Ben  Williams  having  failed  to  make  the  money  due 
from  W.  Hamner  to  the  State,  out  of  the  property 
which  had  belonged  to  It.  Hamner  in  Oglethorpe 
County,  so  as  to  free  fractions  285  and  292  of  the 
State  lien,  endeavored  to  enforce  the  levies  made  upon 
a negro  in  Morgan  County,  in  the  possession  of  Baber, 
and  eleven  negroes  in  Jasper  Comity,  in  the  possession 
of  Spencer  Crane.  I went  to  Morgan  County,  and  had 
the  levy  made  on  Baber’s  negro  dismissed  on  motion. 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


269 


Williams  was  present  when  I addressed  the  court. 
Those  who  knew  him  supposed  my  life  to  be  in  danger. 
A pistol  was  handed  me  for  defence ; and  the  sheriff 
insisted  on  accompanying  me  to  the  tavern  where  I 
boarded.  I went  to  Jasper  Court,  and  succeeded  in 
having  the  levy  upon  the  eleven  negroes  of  Spencer 
Crane  dismissed.  I charged  no  fees  in  these  cases.  I 
had  been  so  much  excited  by  the  interest  which  my 
Broad  River  friends  had  in  them,  and  by  the  character, 
station,  and  influence  of  those  with  whom  I had  to  con- 
tend, that  I was  amply  compensated  for  my  time,  exer- 
tions, expense,  and  risk,  when  I succeeded. 

From  Jasper  Court  I wrote  to  Governor  Rabun, 
informing  him  of  the  decisions  of  the  courts  in  the  cases 
in  Morgan  and  Jasper.  To  that  letter  I received  the 
following  answer : — 

j Executive  Department,  Georgia. 

( Milledgeville,  2'7tli  April,  1819. 

Sir, — Yours  of  the  30th  ult..  by  Col.  Jones,  was  handed  into 
this  office  some  time  after  its  date,  and  lay  on  my  table  a consid- 
erable time  before  I was  apprised  of  its  arrival.  You  mention 
that  the  treasury  executions,  which  had,  at  the  instance  of  Mr. 
Williams,  been  levied  on  property  in  the  Counties  of  Morgan 
and  J asper,  were  dismissed  by  the  courts  for  illegality.  The 
conduct  of  the  courts  in  those  cases  was  no  doubt  perfectly  cor- 
rect. I had  long  been  satisfied  of  the  final  result ; but  as  Mr. 
Williams  had  on  several  different  times  assured  me  that  the  pro- 
perty levied  on  would  ultimately  be  found  to  be  liable,  I did  not 
feel  authorized  to  refuse  him  the  benefit  which  the  law  intended 
in  similar  cases.  It  was  therefore  my  wish  that  the  subject 
should  be  fairly  investigated  in  a court  of  law,  in  order  that,  if 
Mr.  Williams’s  statements  were  false,  they  might  be  exposed, 
and  justice  at  least  would  require  that  he  should  be  saddled  with 
the  cost.  Had  the  case  in  Oglethorpe  been  brought  before  the 
court,  it  would,  in  all  probability,  have  shared  the  same  fate. 
The  sheriff  of  that  county  has  lately  returned  the  execution  that 
was  in  his  possession. 


270 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


You  ask  for  information  respecting  the  future  course  that 
will  be  adopted  and  pursued  by  this  department  in  regard  to 
these  several  cases  ; to  which  I cheerfully  reply,  that  it  never 
was  my  intention  to  pursue  the  parties  concerned  further  than 
to  ascertain  clearly  that  they  were  not  liable,  according  to  ex- 
isting law,  for  the  payment  of  a part  or  the  whole  of  the  State 
Demand  vs.  W.  and  R.  Hamner.  These  facts  having  been  sat- 
isfactorily demonstrated,  the  pursuit  will  be  discontinued. 

I have  long  since  notified  Mr.  Williams  to  make  immediate 
arrangements  to  pay  up  the  whole  amount  of  principal  and 
interest  in  these  cases,  or  the  State’s  execution  will  unques- 
tionably be  levied  on  the  land. 

The  depositions  filed  in  this  office  by  Mr.  W.  will  be  retained, 
and  can  be  used  by  the  prosecuting  officer  in  favor  of  any  of 
the  aggrieved  parties. 

I have  the  honor  to  be,  &c. 

Wm.  Rabun. 

I caiT’yet  recollect  the  pleasure  I enjoyed  when  I 
was  assured  that  my  old  schoolmaster,  and  many  of  my 
earliest  friends,  had  been  saved  from  ruin  by  my  unas- 
sisted exertions, — of  self-gratulation  at  having  overcome 
the  Governor  and  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives,— and,  very  soon  after,  shame  for  having  acted 
and  written  so  rudely  to  the  Governor  of  the  State.  I 
left  home  to  visit  Governor  Rabun,  to  make  as  ample 
an  apology  as  possible  to  him  for  my  threatenings, 
when  I heard  of  his  death.  One  of  the  depositions  to 
which  Governor  Rabun  alluded  in  the  close  of  his  let- 
ter, I caused  to  be  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  Solicitor- 
General  of  the  Ocmulgee  Circuit.  A man  by  the 
name  of  Stovall,  who  had  gone  to  Putnam  County  from 
Oglethorpe,  had  been  induced  by  B.  Williams  to  swear 
falsely  as  to  the  time  of  Richardson  Hamner’s  death. 
I attended  the  first  Superior  Court  in  Putnam  County  ? 
after  the  settlement  of  the  civil  cases,  to  prosecute  Sto- 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


271 


vail.  I was  accompanied  by  several  Broad  River 
people,  so  that  the  falsehood  of  Stovall’s  affidavit  might 
be  rendered  entirely  certain.  A true  bill  of  indictment 
was  found  against  him.  He  put  off  the  trial  of  the 
case.  In  the  evening  after  the  continuance  of  the  in- 
dictment,  whilst  I was  sitting  with  several  gentlemen 
of  the  bar  in  the  balcony  of  the  tavern  where  I was 
boarding,  Ben  Williams,  his  brother,  the  door-keeper  of 
the  Senate,  and  two  or  three  others  of  grog-shop  char- 
acter, Avere  seen  coming  into  the  tavern.  It  was  evi- 
dent that  their  mission  was  to  insult  or  injure  me. 
John  Waters,  a very  powerful  man,  and  a native  of 
Oglethorpe  County,  was  present.  Some  friends  re- 
quested him  to  keep  his  seat,  informing  him  that  his 
county  man  was  in  danger.  Williams  and  his  party 
soon  made  their  appearance.  He  had  but  commenced 
his  talk  with  me,  ivhen  his  movements  were  observed 
by  the  Tomkins  and  other  Oglethorpe  people,  who  came 
to  my  defence.  The  talk  ended  very  quietly. 

I attended  with  my  Oglethorpe  friends  at  the  next 
term  of  Putnam  Court.  Stovall  was  tried.  The  solicitor- 
general,  Adam  G.  Safford,  requested  me  to  conduct  the 
prosecution.  My  exertions  were  not  stinted  in  exposing 
the  scoundrelism  of  Williams.  The  trial  was  not  con- 
cluded until  some  time  after  night.  Whilst  I spoke 
Williams  was  outside  of  the  bar  irrittiim  his  teeth.  A 

O O 

large  party  accompanied  me  to  the  tavern  for  protection 
against  him.  But  it  was  entirely  unnecessary.  The 
exposure  of  his  conduct  had  taken  away  his  control 
over  others.  He  was  himself  harmless,  because  he  felt 
that  attracting  the  attention  of  others  to  himself  would 
but  increase  the  notoriety  of  his  guilt,  and  add  to  his 
shame. 

Stovall  was  sent  to  the  Penitentiary,  ivliere  the 


272 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives  ought  to 
have  been.  Ben  Williams  was  never  afterwards  a inem- 
ber  of  the  Legislature.  Public  opinion  forced  him  to 
leave  Putnam  County.  He  went  to  Gwinnett,  where  he 
became  a constable  for  the  district  in  which  he  lived. 
When  I last  saw  him,  he  was  a poor,  shabby  creature, 
exciting  only  pity  for  his  fallen  fortunes. 

In  1819  I was  re-elected  a member 'of  the  Legisla- 
ture. Gov.  Rabun  having  died  before  its  meeting,  the 
duties  of  Chief  Magistrate  devolved  upon  Mr.  Tabbat, 
the  president  of  the  Senate.  The  Governor  was  then 
elected  by  the  Legislature.  Gen.  Clark  was  a candi- 
date. He  and  his  friends  were  very  active  in  the  use 
of  means  to  secure  his  success.  Gov.  Rabun  had  beaten 
him  but  a few  votes  at  the  previous  election.  Parties 
were  so  equally  divided,  that  every  vote  was  looked 
after  with  great  interest.  The  county  of  Newton  was 
for  the  first  time  represented  in  the  Legislature.  The 
candidate  for  the  House  of  Representatives  who  obtain- 
ed the  certificate  of  election  was  a friend  of  Clark. 
His  seat  was  contested. 

The  committee  on  elections  was  apjiointed  imme- 
diately after  the  organization  of  the  House.  The  mem- 
bers went  into  an  examination  of  the  right  of  the  sit- 
ting member  to  his  seat,  so  that  a report  might  be  made 
and  acted  on  before  the  election  of  Governor. 

The  opponent  of  the  sitting  member,  called  upon 
the  members  of  the  committee  who  were  opposed  to 
the  election  of  Gen.  Clark,  and  informed  them  that  he 
was  against  Gen.  Clark,  and  the  sitting  member  for 
him.  He  was  threatened  with  punishment  with  but 
little  effect.  When  the  committee  met,  he  exhibited 
affidavits  in  proof  that  a sufficient  number  of  the  votes 
given  to  the  sitting  member  were  fraudulent,  to  entitle 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


278 


him  to  the  seat.  The  committee  reported  to  that  ef- 
' feet.  The  sitting  member  was  a very  simple  illiterate 
man.  He  acquiesced  in  the  report.  A partisan  of 
Gen.  Clark  rose  in  the  House,  and  asked  that  time 
should  be  allowed  the  sitting  member  to  procure  evi- 
dence in  support  of  his  right  to  the  seat.  After  some 
hesitation  time  was  granted.  The  sitting  member  re- 
mained to  give  his  vote  for  Gen.  Clark,  and  then  went 
to  Newton,  where  he  obtained  satisfactory  proof  that 
the  affidavits  presented  by  his  opponent  to  the  commit- 
tee were  forgeries.  As  he  returned  to  Milledgeville, 
his  opponent  waylaid  him,  and  threatened  him  with 
violence  if  he  did  not  give  up  the  testimony  which  he 
had  obtained.  He  contrived  however  to  escape  with 
his  papers.  When  these  facts  were  made  known  to  the 
House  of  Representatives,  a resolution  was  passed,  di- 
recting that  the  forged  affidavits  should  be  turned  over 
to  the  Solicitor  General  of  the  circuit  to  which  Newton 
County  was  attached,  in  order  that  the  forger  might 
be  prosecuted.  Instead  of  being  indicted  he  was  elect- 
ed a member  of  the  succeeding  Legislature.  He  proved 
himself  a thorough  partisan  of  Gov.  Clark,  and  as 
great  a knave  as  ever  went  unhung. 

Soon  after  the  meeting  of  the  Legislature,  and  the 
inauguration  of  the  Governor,  Jesse  Mercer,  the  cele- 
brated Baptist  preacher,  was  requested  by  the  Legisla- 
ture to  preach  the  funeral  sermon  of  Governor  Rabun, 
who  had  been  his  intimate  friend.  Our  Georgia  factions 
of  Crawford  and  Clark  were  then  flourishing  in  great 
vigor.  Jesse  Mercer  was  a Crawford  man  as  Gov.  Ra- 
bun had  been.  Gov.  Clark  suspected  that  this  funeral 
ceremony  was  intended  to  do  him  harm.  The  sermon 
was  preached  in  the  Baptist  Church,  which  was  some 
distance  from  the  State  House.  Gov.  Clark,  Jesse 
18 


274 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


Mercer,  ancl  tire  members  of  tire  Legislature  walked  in 
procession  to  it.  Jesse  Mercer  did  Iris  best  in  preaching 
this  funeral  sermon  of  his  Baptist  friend,  and  enforced 
the  doctrine  with  great  zeal,  that  when  the  Lord  taketh 
away  a good  and  righteous  ruler,  he  does  it  on  ac- 
count of  the  sins  of  the  peojfie,  and  will  punish  them 
by  putting  wicked  rulers  over  them,  and  ended  by  say- 
ing Georgia  has  reason  to  tremble.  Col.  Tatnall  and 
myself  had  walked  together  in  the  procession,  and 
were  seated  near  the  principal  passway  through  the 
Church,  with  Col.  Campbell,  Gov.  Clark’s  brother-in- 
law,  immediately  before  us,  and  John  Abercromby,  the 
particular  friend  of  Gov.  Rabun,  a little  back ; and  on 
the  opposite  side  of  the  passway,  Col.  Campbell  with  a 
frown  on  his  brow,  looking  first  at  the  preacher  and 
then  at  Gov.  Clark.  Abercromby  gazed  around  with 
the  most  approving  smile  on  his  face  at  the  leading 
Clark  men,  his  speaking  countenance  saying  as  plainly 
as  words  could  have  done, — How  your  man  gets  it; 
and  then  at  the  Crawford  men  with  equally  significant 
tokens  of  approbation.  Col  Tatnall’s  proud  nature 
scarcely  brooked  what  he  considered  a gross  insult  of- 
fered to  the  dignity  of  the  Chief  Magistrate  of  the 
State.  His  pent  up  wrath  vented  itself  in  the  strongest 
expressions  of  disapprobation,  as  we  walked  back  to 
the  State  House,  at  the  conduct  of  the  preacher,  the  fu- 
ture speaker,  and  all  who  approved  their  words,  or  looks. 
A resolution  was  immediately  passed,  asking  Jesse  Mer- 
cer for  a copy  of  his  sermon  for  publication.  The  reso- 
lution never  returned  from  the  Governor’s  office.  This 
scene  in  the  Baptist  Church  showed  the  state  of  man- 
ners, feelings,  and  opinions  of  the  times.  Col.  Tatnall 
stood  alone  a party  man  above  faction. 

During  the  session  of  1819,  Gov.  Clark  induced  Dr. 


FIKST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


275 


Burton,  a member  from  Clark  County,  to  introduce  a 
resolution  approving  the  conduct  of  Gen.  Jackson  in 
writing  a very  insulting  letter  to  Gov.  Rabun,  on  ac- 
count of  an  attack  made  by  a party  of  Georgia  Militia 
under  the  command  of  a fellow  by  the  name  of  Wright, 
upon  an  Indian  village.  Burton  had  been  elected  a 
Crawford  man.  He  was  promised  for  this  service,  the 
title  of  Colonel.  Its  purpose  was  to  increase  the  popu- 
larity of  Gen.  Jackson  at  the  expense  of  the  friends  of 
Mr.  Crawford.  Gen.  Clark  had  a private  interview 
with  Col.  Thomas  Murray,  and  informed  him  of  Bur- 
ton’s resolution,  and  its  object,  and  insisted  that  he 
should  aid  in  its  passage.  Col.  Murray  avowed  his  dis- 
position to  support  him,  but  declined  doing  any  thing  to 
injure  Mr.  Crawford.  When  Burton  offered  his  resolu- 
tion, I moved  that  it  should  be  laid  on  the  table.  The 
motion  was  carried,  Col.  Murray  voting  for  it. 

John  Abercromby  was  one  of  the  leading  mem- 
bers of  the  session  of  1819.  He  was  a large,  fat,  pot- 
bellied man,  with  his  head  stuck  upon  his  shoulders 
without  neck.  His  mind  was  uncultivated  by  books, 
but  quick  and  intelligent.  His  passions  and  prejudices 
were  strong  and  indulged  in  freely.  During  the  session 
a kinsman  of  his  by  the  name  of  Jerregan  (I  believe), 
came  to  Milledn'eville  from  McIntosh  Countv,  where 
Hopkins  had  been  tried  for  killing  McIntosh.  He  re- 
ported that  Judge  Berrien,  who  presided  at  the  trial, 
had  been  guilty  of  great  partiality  in  favor  of  Hopkins. 
Abercromby,  whose  ojhnion  of  Judge  Berrien  was  not 
very  favorable,  was  excited  by  the  report  of  the  judge’s 
conduct,  to  introduce  unto  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives a strongly  condemnatory  resolution,  without  any 
evidence  of  what  it  had  been,  but  a short  street  conver- 
sation. A very  angry  debate  took  place.  Col.  Tat- 


276 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


nail,  who  was  the  Representative  and  neighbor  of 
Judge  Berrien,  was  very  indignant.  He  and  Aber- 
cromby were  soon  in  lighting  mood.  Abercromby 
reflected  upon  the  lawyers  for  the  support  they  gave 
their  Brother  Chip,  as  he  called  Judge  Berrien.  He  and 
I occupied  adjoining  seats  and  were  upon  very  friendly 
terms.  I succeeded  in  (what  I am  not  very  successful 
at)  exciting  the  laugh  of  the  House  at  Abercromby, 
and  putting  every  body  into  gooddiumor.  Col.  Tat- 
nall  offered  a resolution  of  inquiry  into  Judge  Ber- 
rien’s conduct,  which  was  referred  to  a large  committee. 
Judge  Berrien  was  immediately  notified  of  the  proceed- 
ings of  the  House,  and  came  to  Milleclgeville  attended  by 
several  friends  of  the  Bar.  The  committee  held  its 
meetings  in  the  senate  chamber,  after  the  adjournment 
for  the  day  of  the  two  Houses.  A great  crowd  assem- 
bled below  and  in  the  gallery.  Col.  Tatnall,  the  mov- 
er of  the  resolution  of  inquiry,  was  chairman  of  the 
committee.  Before  he  took  his  seat  in  the  President’s 
chair,  he  told  me  that  Abercromby’s  violent  conduct 
had  so  excited  him,  that  he  believed  he  would  find  it 
impossible  to  restrain  his  temper  if  it  was  repeated,  and 
requested  me  to  move  as  soon  as  the  committee  was 
ready  to  act,  that  he  should  be  excused  from  presiding 
over  it,  and  another  chairman  appointed. 

I did  so,  and  nominated  Col.  Murray,  whose  former 
independent  conduct  in  resisting  Gov.  Clark’s  demand 
that  he  should  support  Burton’s  movement  against  Gov. 
Rabun,  had  entitled  him  to  distinction  when  it  could 
be  given  him.  The  investigation  was  made  upon  the 
evidence  given  by  Judge  Berrien’s  friends,  and  resulted 
in  his  entire  acquittal  by  the  committee.  Abercrom- 
by was  alone  in  his  attack,  and  without  any  offensive 
materials  to  carry  it  on.  He  had  to  submit,  but  he  did 
so  with  bad  temper. 


FIE  ST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


277 


It  may  not  be  amiss  to  mention  here  an  incident 
which  relates  to  John  Abercromby,  which  is  still  freshly 
remembered  by  some.  In  1824,  whilst  the  House  of 
Representatives  was  in  committee  laying  off  into  coun- 
ties the  country some  time  before  acquired 

from  the  Creek  Indians,  John  Abercromby  having  left 
the  speaker’s  chair,  moved  that  one  of  the  new  counties 
should  be  called  Butts,  in  honor  of  a captain  of  that 
name,  who  had  served  under  General  Floyd  in  the 
expedition  against  the  Creek  Indians,  and  been  killed 
in  a fight  with  them.  Abercromby  supported  his 
motion  by  a very  declamatory  speech  enforced  by  the 
most  furious  gestures,  saying  that  “ Captain  Butts  had 
marched  to  the  cannon’s  mouth  and  died  without  a grunt.” 
My  wife  was  in  the  gallery  listening.  Her  Grattan 
spirit,  carried  aloft  by  Abercromby’s  enthusiastic  elo- 
quence, was  near  being  brought  to  the  floor  by  the 
spasmodic  effect  of  the  word  grunt. 

During  the  session  of  1819, 1 offered  an  amendment 
to  the  Constitution,  to  authorize  the  Legislature  to 
establish  a Supreme  Appellate  Court.  The  judges  of  the 
Superior  Court  were  then  elected  for  three  years,  and 
were  of  course  frequently  changed.  Ho  reports  of 
decisions  were  made  and  published.  Lawyers  resorted 
to  the  law  reports  of  other  States  and  counties,  and  to 
their  own  and  others’  memoirs  of  adjudicated  cases  in 
the  advocacy  of  their  clients’  causes.  Declamation  and 
bold  assertion  perverted  the  verdicts  of  juries,  and 
judgments  of  the  judges.  The  effort  to  correct  these 
evils  by  the  proposed  amendment  of  the  Constitution 
was  without  success.  The  most  influential  public  men 
in  the  State  were  Virginians  or  of  Virginia  descent.  In 
former  times,  the  Court  of  Appeals  of  Virginia  was  so 
constituted,  that  when  a case  of  any  importance  got 


278 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


before  it,  the  delay  became  so  great  an  evil  as  to  excite 
the  opposition  of  the  people  to  the  Court  itself.  It  was 
not  until  after  the  emigrants  from  Virginia  ceased  to 
govern,  that  the  Court  of  Appeals  was  established.  I 
made  a speech  in  support  of  my  proposed  measure.  It 
was  answered  by  the  leading  partisan  of  Governor 
Clark.  Party  politics  began  immediately  to  enter  into 
the  decision  of  the  question.  I was  requested  to  pub- 
lish my  remarks  as  soon  as  possible.  I wrote  them 
out ; but  the  writing  was  illegible  at  the  printing  office. 
I had  not  then  a faithful  copyist  ever  at  my  side,  to 
make  my  writing  readable.  George  Cony,  an  old 
schoolmate  and  fellow-member,  offered  to  copy  them. 
When  he  returned  the  manuscript,  I found  that  he  had 
in  several  places  changed  the  verbiage  (which,  he  said, 
was  so  bold  that  he  could  not  stand  it)  into  redundant 
terms.  As  the  sense  was  not  altered,  I consented  to 
the  publication  at  once.  This  was  my  second  published 
speech.  I had  been  still  more  unfortunate  in  the  first. 
That  was  made  at  the  previous  session  of  the  Legisla- 
ture, on  the  subject  of  banks,  and  was  printed  without 
any  correction  at  all,  and  therefore  full  of  mistakes. 
I sent  a newspaper  copy  of  the  speech  on  the  Court  of 
Appeals  to  Eliza  Grattan,  in  a letter,  instead  of  direct- 
ing the  paper  to  her.  This  lovedetter  was  opened  in 
search  of  bank-bills,  and  its  contents  exposed  to  the 
reading  of  every  curious  body  at  the  post-office.  The 
postage  amounted  to  one  dollar. 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


279 


CHAPTER  V. 

•Esr  1820,  I was  a candidate  for  Congress.  On  Friday, 
ten  days  before  the  election,  I received  a letter  from 
an  acquaintance  in  Putnam  County,  informing  me  that 
Ben  Williams  had  gone  to  Milledgeville,  to  have  the 
correspondence  between  Governor  Rabun  and  myself 
published,  with  the  hope  that  its  violence  would  pre- 
vent the  friends  of  'Governor  Rabun  from  voting  for 
me.  I reached  Greens  borough,  on  my  way  to  Milledge- 
ville, on  the  evening  after  the  letter  was  received.  I 
found  Governor  Clark  at  the  tavern  where  I stopped. 
I had  an  interview  with  him,  and  stated  what  hacl  been 
communicated  to  me.  He  answered,  that  every  citizen 
was  entitled  to  copies  of  the  papers  in  the  executive 
office,  and  that  Mr.  Williams  had  only  done  what  other 
citizens  might  do.  I replied,  that  I was  not  complain- 
ing of  the  liberty  he  had  given  Williams ; but  that  as 
the  Executive  Department  had  furnished  copies  of  these 
papers  belonging  to  it,  for  the  purpose  of  impairing 
public  confidence  in  me,  I desired  to  have  the  use  of 
the  same  means  for  making  my  defence ; and  that  as  I 
could  not  get  to  Milledgeville  until  Saturday  night,  I 
wished  an  order  from  him  to  his  secretary,  to  permit 
me  to  go  into  the  Executive  office  on  Sunday,  to  pro- 
cure copies  of  such  papers  as  I wanted  for  that  purpose, 
so  that  the  publication  of  my  defence  might  be  made 
with  the  attack,  there  being  then  but  one  paper  to  be 
published  before  the  election.  Governor  Clark  an- 
swered, that  the  office  over  which  he  presided  was  not 
opened  on  the  Sabbath  day.  I went  to  Milledgeville 
the  next  day.  As  soon  as  my  arrival  was  known,  the 


280 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


Governor’s  secretary,  Mr.  Bircli,  who  had  furnished 
Williams  with  copies  of  what  he  wanted,  offered  imme- 
diately to  do  the  same  for  me.  Upon  going  to  the 
printing  office,  I found  my  hard  ride  unnecessary,  as 
the  editors  had  refused  to  print  Williams’  attack  upon 
a candidate  so  immediately  before  the  election  that  no 
reply  could  be  made. 

After  the  adjournment  of  the  October  term  of  the 
Supreme  Court  of  Oglethorpe,  in  1821,  I set  off  for 
Washington  City,  by  the  way  of  Virginia.  I had  been 
corresponding  for  many  years  with  a Rockingham 
cousin,  whom  I had  first  seen  twelve  years  before  in 
Richmond.  In  this  written  intercourse,  I had  said 
nothing  to  her  about  marrying.  I felt  great  curiosity 
to  see  her.  I wanted  to  know  whether  we  would  fancy 
each  other  upon  sight,  as  we  had  on  paper. 

I arrived  about  twelve  o’clock  on  Sunday,  at  the  old 
Augusta  church,  which  stands  on  the  top  of  a slight 
elevation  in  the  midst  of  a forest  of  venerable  oaks,  and 
near  the  public  road  leading  from  Staunton  to  Win- 
chester. The  doors  were  closed.  I found  the  son  of 
the  sexton,  and  inquired  if  Maj.  Grattan’s  family  were 
there.  He  answered,  yes.  I opened  the  door,  but  was 
unable  to  go  into  Maj.  Grattan’s  pew,  which  was  next 
to  the  door,  and  elevated  above  the  seats  in  front.  The 
owner  of  the  next  pew  invited  me  in.  I had  no  power 
to  hear  the  sermon  from  my  curiosity  to  see  the  inmates 
of  the  pew  behind  me.  I could  hear  a stir  among  the 
Grattan  children.  Very  soon  a beautiful  young  lady 
descended  from  the  pew,  and  went  to  the  stove,  pre- 
tending that  she  was  cold.  I saw  that  it  was  not  Eliza. 
When  the  service  was  over,  I found  that  Eliza  was  at 
my  uncle  George  Gilmer’s,  twenty  miles  off.  I accom- 
panied Maj.  Grattan’s  family  home.  The  next  morning, 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


281 


I went  to  Lethe.  As  I opened  the  outer  door,  the  door 
from  the  passage  into  the  sitting  room  was  opened  by 
Eliza  Grattan.  When  I knew  what  I was  about,  my 
arm  was  around  her  waist,  and  I was  pressing  her  lips ; 
a position  which  I have  been  constantly  taking  ever 
since,  and  ever  with  renewed  pleasure.  Eliza  Grattan 
and  myself  settled  the  matter  most  interesting  to  us  in 
a very  satisfactory  way,  agreeing  that  after  the  session 
of  Congress  was  over,  we  would  take  each  other,  for 
better,  for  life.  During  my  attendance  on  the  first 
session  of  Congress,  I wrote  to  her  by  every  direct 
mail.  During  the  next  session  after  our  marriage, 
whilst  we  were  separated  for  three  weeks  (the  longest 
time  we  have  ever  been  apart),  I wrote  to  her  twice 
a day.  My  health  became  so  bad  during  the  winter, 
that  I was  in  great  doubt  whether  I ought  to  involve 
any  one  in  my  sickly  fate.  Eliza  Grattan  considered 
my  doubts  a reflection  upon  her  generous  devotedness ; 
and  for  a few  days  our  correspondence  was  embarrass- 
ing. The  cloud,  however,  soon  passed  away.  It  was 
agreed  between  us,  that  after  the  adjournment  of  Con- 
gress I should  see  Dr.  Phisic  of  Philadelphia,  and  follow 
his  advice. 

During  the  session,  the  candidates  for  the  Presi- 
dency, and  their  friends,  began  to  canvass  actively. 
Mr.  Adams  of  the  North,  Mr.  Crawford  of  the  South, 
and  Mr.  Clay  of  the  West,  were  the  distinguished,  and 
well-tried  politicians  of  the  country,  and  every  where 
considered  best  entitled  to  the  office.  Mr.  Calhoun, 
and  one  or  two  talented  and  aspiring  young  men,  were 
showing  symptoms  of  restlessness  at  their  being  kept 
in  the  background.  Gen.  Jackson’s  claims  had  been 
advocated  by  only  a crack-brained  editor  of  a thumb 
newspaper  in  Georgia,  named  Minor.  Mr.  Calhoun 


282 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


considering  Mr.  Crawford  particularly  in  Iris  way,  as 
tliey  belonged  to  the  same  section  of  the  country,  was 
preparing  to  unite  with  any  one  whose  success  would 
not  put  him  aside  too  long.  Mr.  Clay  next  after  him- 
self preferred  Mr.  Crawford,  but  stood  aloof,  to  avail 
himself  of  circumstances  to  secure  his  own  success. 
Cook,  of  the  House,  and  his  father-in-law,  Ninian  Ed- 
wards, of  the  Senate,  were  active  partisans  of  Mr. 
Adams.  Cook  introduced  into  the  House  a resolution, 
the  object  of  which  was  to  create  suspicions  that  Mr. 
Crawford  was  using  the  patronage  of  the  treasury  de- 
partment for  electioneering  purposes.  Mr.  Crawford 
was  the  neighbor  and  friend  of  my  friends  at  home. 
I was  very  raw,  and  felt  the  attack  as  if  it  had  been  an 
assault  upon  myself.  Whilst  Cook’s  resolution  was 
before  the  House,  I received  information  that  Mr.  Cal- 
houn and  several  members,  his  own  and  Mr.  Adams’s 
special  friends,  had  been  consulting  how  to  give  effect 
to  Cook’s  attack.  I offered  a resolution  of  inquiry, 
whether  a conspiracy  had  not  been  formed  to  destroy 
public  confidence  in  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 
Whilst  I was  attacking  Cook,  I saw  his  father-in-law, 
Ninian  Edwards,  come  into  the  gallery,  and  place  him- 
self near  and  rather  behind  one  of  the  pillars,  so  that 
he  could  see  and  hear  without  being  conspicuous  him- 
self. I pointed  at  him  with  my  finger,  as  the  skulking 
scamp  who  was  then  acting  the  part  of  a conspirator. 
Every  eye  in  the  House  was  directed  at  the  pillar,  with 
overpowering  effect  upon  the  peeping  listener.  The 
next  day  a member  from  Connecticut,  who  had  been 
a college  mate  of  Mr.  Calhoun,  was  put  forward  to 
assault  me  in  the  House.  He  had  scarcely  uttered  more 
than  a sentence  or  two,  before  Col.  Tatnall  called  him 
to  order  in  such  manner  that  he  quailed,  disavowed  in- 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


283 


tending  any  discourtesy,  and  made  what  he  said  with- 
out point,  and  unworthy  of  notice. 

The  speech  from  which  the  following  extract  is 
taken,  was  upon  a subject  which  had  at  the  time  lost 
much  of  its  original  interest.  The  Anti-Democratic 
party,  at  first  called  the  Federal,  then  Federal  Repub- 
lican, and  since  Whig,  had  been  long  using  the  United 
States  Bank,  restrictive  duties  upon  commerce,  and  ap- 
propriations for  internal  improvements,  as  means  for 
increasing  and  rendering  permanent  in  the  General  Gov- 
ernment enlarged  legislative  powers,  and  controlling 
authority  over  matters  which  properly  belonged  to 
the  jurisdiction  of  the  States.  The  democratic  party 
was  at  the  time  making  but  slight  resistance  to  this 
departure  of  the  government  from  the  principles  which 
had  been  the  basis  of  its  organization.  The  urgency 
of  particular  sections  of  the  country  in  favor  of  making 
roads  and  canals  to  facilitate  the  transportation  of  their 
produce  to  market,  and  the  demands  of  large  capital- 
ists for  the  means  of  safe  and  profitable  investments 
of  their  money  in  banks  and  manufactures,  were  hush- 
ing up  many  of  its  members.  The  practical  operation 
of  the  government  was  thus  overstepping,  without 
much  difficulty,  the  theoretic  barriers  provided  by  its 
form  for  the  security  of  popular  rights,  and  the  strict 
responsibility  of  the  governors  to  the  governed. 

“ No”  (I  said)  “maxim  has  been  better  tested  .by  experience, 
or  more  strongly  urged  for  our  observance,  by  those  'who  have 
preceded  us,  than  the  necessity  of  a frequent  recurrence  to 
fundamental  principles  as  the  only  means  of  preserving  the  ori- 
ginal freedom  of  our  institutions.  If  we  go  on,  regardless  of 
this  maxim,  is  there  not  reason  to  fear,  that  from  the  gradual 
operation  of  causes  that  never  cease  to  act,  we  shall,  after  a 
while,  find  our  government  in  possession  of  the  same  controlling 


284 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


authority  over  the  will,  the  rights,  and  interests,  of  the  people, 
and  the  States,  that  all  other  governments  have  usurped  ? 

“ Sir,  I consider  this  power  of  making  surveys,  and  the  conse- 
quent right  of  constructing  roads  and  canals  within  the  large  terri- 
tories of  the  States,  as  the  most  dangerous  to  the  people  and 
the  States,  which  can  be  assumed  by  this  government.  All  the 
wealth  of  the  country  may  he  exhausted  in  its  exercise,  and  all 
resistance  to  lawless  authority  quieted,  in  the  extended  influence 
which  it  will  give.  I deny  that  this  government  has  any  such 
power.  And  believing  as  I do,  that  the  division  of  power  between 
the  United  States  and  the  States,  as  made  by  the  constitution, 
should  not  be  altered,  it  becomes  my  duty  to  resist  any  attempt 
at  such  an  alteration.” 

Col.  Tatnall  and  myself  left  Washington  City  two 
days  after  the  adjournment  of  Congress,  for  New  York. 
We  had  for  companions  Rufus  King  and  Martin  Van 
Buren. 

I visited  in  New  York  the  highest  court  of  law 
then  sitting ; saw,  heard,  and  conversed  with  Mr. 
Emmet,  the  celebrated  Irishman,  in  whom  I felt  a special 
interest.  On  the  next  day  Mr.  Van  Buren  called,  and 
conducted  me  to  the  city  court,  where  the  young,  active, 
and  aspiring  lawyers  were  to  be  found,  with  whom  he 
seemed  to  be  particularly  intimate.  We  called  upon 
his  tailor,  Gen.  Mapes,  to  whom  he  was  very  gracious. 
He  gave  me  a letter  to  the  postmaster  at  Saratoga 
Springs,  whither  I was  going.  I found  a very  good 
landlady  by  his  assistance.  I had  also  a letter  to  a 
pleasant  gentleman  residing  at  the  Springs.  He  took 
me  with  him  to  Ballston,  the  county  seat  of  Saratoga, 
where  the  superior  court  was  in  session.  I heard  Mr. 
Van  Vechten  speak,  and  dined  with  Judge  Yates,  after- 
wards Governor  of  New  York. 

The  following  letters  describe  some  of  the  transac- 
tions at  Washington  City  in  which  I took  part. 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


285 


Saratoga  Springs,  May  VAth,  1822. 

If  I mistake  not,  I mentioned  to  you  in  a former  letter,  that 
I had  been  very  much  vexed  at  some  occurrences  -which  took 
place  in  the  last  two  days  that  I remained  in  Washington  City. 
I received  the  papers  on  the  same  day  I received  your  letter 
relative  to  those  occurrences.  ****** 

The  report  which,  as  chairman  of  a select  committee,  I made 
on  the  subject  of  Indian  lands  in  Georgia,  was  not  taken  up  for 
consideration  by  the  House  of  Representatives,  as  it  never  be- 
came the  order  of  the  day.  I was  enabled,  however,  to  obtain 
an  appropriation  of  $30,000  for  the  purpose  of  holding  treaties 
with  the  Cherokee  and  Creek  Indians  for  the  extinguishment  of 
their  title  to  lands  in  Georgia.  The  law  containing  this  appro- 
priation passed  on  Tuesday,  the  last  day  but  one  of  the  session. 
On  the  evening  of  that  day,  the  members  of  Congress  from 
Georgia  had  a meeting,  for  the  purpose  of  agreeing  upon  the 
persons  who  should  he  recommended  to  the  President  for  the 
appointment  of  commissioners  to  hold  treaties.  We  drew  up  a 
written  address,  recommending  to  the  President  Gen.  Floyd, 
Maj.  James  Meriwether,  Col.  Warren  Jourdan,  Freeman 
Walker,  Richard  H.  Wild,  and  Joel  Crawford,  from  whom  he 
was  requested  to  select  three.  On  Wednesday  morning,  it  was 
determined  that  we  should  wait  upon  the  President,  and  name 
to  him  the  persons  whom  we  preferred  for  commissioners.  Ac- 
cordingly, Col.  Ware,  Judge  Reid,  and  myself,  called  upon  him, 
and  requested  tha  the  would  nominate  Gen.  Floyd,  Maj.  Meri- 
wether. and  Col.  Jourdan.  The  President  stated  that  he  was 
pleased  to  see  us,  being  unacquainted  with  the  passage  of  the 
appropriation.  We  asked  him  if  he  would  nominate  the  com- 
missioners to  the  Senate  before  its  adjournment,  or  would  he 
appoint  them  during  the  recess.  He  answered,  that  he  did  not 
think  it  right  to  delay  making  appointments  until  the  recess  of 
Congress  which  could  be  made  during  the  session,  and  that  they 
would  be  made  during  the  day.  Whilst  the  Senate  was  still  in 
session,  the  President  sent  for  Col.  Ware,  who  is  a member  of 
that  body,  and  informed  him,  that  Mr.  Calhoun  had  communi- 
cated to  him  after  the  conversation  with  us,  that  he  had  recom- 
mendations in  Iris  office  from  Gov.  Clark  of  Georgia,  the  Presi- 
dent of  its  Senate,  the  Speaker  of  its  House,  and  a large  number 


286 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


of  the  members  of  the  Legislature,  of  Gen.  Newman  and  John 
A.  Cuthbert  of  Georgia,  and  Gen.  Preston  of  Virginia,  for 
Commissioners,  and  that  he  could  not  therefore  make  any  nom- 
inations to  the  Senate.  Col.  Ware  sent  for  me.  I requested 

an  audience  of  the  President,  which  was  grafted.  I stated  to 
him  that  the  recommendations  which  had  been  mentioned  by 
Mr.  Calhoun,  proceeded  only  from  the  efforts  of  a party,  to  get 
their  creatures  into  office.  That  Gen.  Newman  was  a man  of 
broken  fortunes  and  character,  and  Mr.  Cuthbert  had  no  know- 
ledge of  Indian  character  or  manners.  Gen.  Preston  having 
been  appointed  to  the  office  of  Commissioner  in  Florida,  it  be- 
came useless  to  say  any  thing  of  him.  After  a long  conversa- 
tion, in  which  the  President  showed  more  restlessness  than  dis- 
position to  hear,  he  informed  me  that  he  could  not  make  the  ap- 
pointments then,  but  that  such  persons  should  be  appointed  during 
the  recess,  as  he  supposed  to  be  most  agreeable  to  public  opinion 
in  Georgia.  Congress  having  adjourned  in  the  morning,  I 
called  at  the  President’s  house  in  the  evening  for  the  purpose  of 
seeing  the  recommendations.  The  President  informed  me  that 
he  had  not  himself  seen  them,  that  his  knowledge  of  them  was 
from  the  statement  of  Mr.  Calhoun,  but  that  I should  be  fur- 
nished with  copies.  He  sent  for  Mr.  Calhoun,  who  had  left  him 
upon  my  entering  his  room.  Upon  his  coming  in,  he  directed 
him  to  have  copies  made  out  for  me.  Mr.  Calhoun  commenced 
a conversation,  or  rather  attack  upon  me,  which  continued  until, 
from  its  peculiar  nature,  the  President  had  to  stop  it,  at  the 
same  time  saying  to  me  very  politely,  that  he  would  receive  any 
thing  from  me,  verbally  or  written,  with  pleasure.  You  may 
have  some  idea  of  the  conversation  between  Mr.  Calhoun  and 
myself  by  what  I am  about  to  tell  you.  He  stated,  among  other 
things,  that  his  conduct  in  making  the  treaty  with  the  Cherokee 
Indians  in  1819,  had  been  very  much  misrepresented  in  Georgia. 
I told  him  that  the  people  of  Georgia  believed  that  injustice  had 
been  done  them  by  that  treaty.  You  may  see  the  objections  to 
that  treaty  in  my  report.  He  stated  that  those  who  believed  so 
only  showed  their  ignorance.  I told  him  that  the  treaty  had 
been  protested  against  by  a unanimous  vote  of  the  Legislature 
of  Georgia.  “ Sir,”  says  he,  “ I repeat  it,  they  knew  nothing  of 
what  they  were  doing.”  He  said  that  the  treaty  had  been  made 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


287 


by  the  particular  advice  of  Mr.  Crawford.  Mr.  Crawford  in- 
forms me  that  the  statement  is  entirely  false,  that  he  was  confin- 
ed to  bed  by  sickness,  at  the  time  of  the  making  of  the  treaty. 
Mr.  Calhoun  asked  me  if  Col.  Jourdan  was  not  the  brother-in- 
law  of  Mr.  Crawford,  thereby  insinuating  to  the  President,  that 
the  members  of  Congress  were  influenced  in  their  recommenda- 
tions, by  a regard  for  the  interest  of  Mr.  Crawford.  Mrs.  Cran- 
ford’s maiden  name  was  Gerdine,  and  is  usually  called  in  the 
same  manner  as  Jourdan.  He  stated  that  the  recommendations 
from  Georgia  must  have  been  known  to  myself  and  other  mem- 
bers. I answered  him.  that  they  had  been  kept  secret  even  from 
the  President,  and  that  the  only  member  who  knew  any  thing  of 
them,  was  Mr.  Alfred  Cuthbert,  the  brother  of  the  person  re- 
commended, to  whom  he  had  stated  at  his  own  house,  in  a pri- 
vate conversation,  that  his  brother  John  could  be  appointed  a 
commissioner.  I had  drawn  this  information  from  Alfred  Cuth- 
bert, a few  hours  before,  that  this  had  been  several  months  be- 
fore, and  that  the  recommendations  had  continued  unknown  to 
the  other  members. 

On  Tuesday  morning,  Col.  Ware,  Judge  Reid  and  myself 
directed  a note  to  the  President,  inclosing  the  first  written  re- 
commendations, for  the  purpose  of  showing  to  the  President  that 
we  had  no  political  view  in  making  them.  I also  addressed  a 
note  to  the  President,  inclosing  one  to  myself  from  a highly  re- 
spectable merchant  of  Georgia,  who  had  arrived  in  the  city  the 
evening  before,  in  which  he  stated,  that  Gen.  Newman  had  be- 
come insolvent  and  had  gone  to  Tennessee,  it  was  believed  never  to 
return,  leaving  his  securities  to  pay  his  debts.  ,Mr.  Calhoun  stated 
the  evening  before,  that  the  paper  containing  the  recommendations 
from  Georgia  could  not  be  furnished  before  nine  or  ten  o’clock 
next  morning.  Before  that  time  I expected  to  have  left  the 
city,  and  therefore  directed  them  to  be  sent  to  this  place. 
Afterwards  finding  that  I should  be  detained  by  the  sickness 
of  Col.  Tatnall,  I wrote  to  Mr.  Calhoun,  requesting  that  they 
should  be  sent  to  me  in  the  city.  They  were  not,  b owever,  re- 
ceived until  I arrived  here.  You  may  imagine  my  surprise, 
when,  upon  examining  them,  I found  that  the  statements  of  Mr. 
Calhoun  to  the  President,  with  regard  to  them,  had  been  entirely 
different  from  the  facts.  Gen.  Newman  had  been  recommended 


288 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


by  no  one  from  Georgia  for  the  appointment  of  Commissioner  ; 
Mr.  Cuthbert  only  by  the  Governor,  tbe  President  of  the  Senate, 
and  the  Speaker  of  the  House. 

I have  addressed  a letter  to  the  President,  a copy  of  which 
is  inclosed  to  you.  From  all  these  circumstances  you  will  be 
better  enabled  to  form  some  opinion  of  the  state  of  politics  at 
Washington  City.  When  ambition  can  produce  such  effects 
upon  men,  who,  in  private  life  are  its  brightest  ornaments,  we 
are  warned  to  quit  politics. 

George  R.  Gilmer. 


Saratoga  Springs,  May,  20th.  1822. 

To  Mr.  Monroe,  President  of  the  U.  States. 

The  papers  which  you  directed  the  Secretary  of  War  to 
have  copied  for  me  have  been  received.  I must  confess  that  I 
am  very  much  surprised  to  find  that  the  statements  made  by  the 
Secretary  to  the  President,  were  very  incorrect.  The  President 
was  informed  that  Gen.  Newman,  John  A.  Cuthbert,  and  Gen. 
Preston,  had  been  recommended  for  the  appointment  of  commis- 
sioners to  hold  treaties  with  the  Indians  in  the  State  of  Georgia, 
by  the  Governor  of  the  State,  the  President  of  the  Senate, 
Speaker  of  the  House,  and  a large  number  of  the  members  of  its 
Legislature.  It  appears  that  the  statement  with  regard  to  Gen. 
Newman  was  wholly  unfounded.  Mr.  Cuthbert  has  been  recom- 
mended by  the  Governor,  Mr.  Talbot,  President  of  the  Senate, 
and  Gen.  Adams,  Speaker  of  the  House,  but  by  no  others  of  the 
Legislature.  Gen.  Preston  is  recommended  by  the  Governor 
alone.  I know  of  no  excuse  for  the  conduct  of  the  Secretary. 
The  papers  have  been  in  his  possession  for  several  months.  He 
stated  in  the  presence  of  the  President,  that  their  contents  were 
so  publicly  known,  that  the  members  of  Congress  could  not  have 
been  ignorant  of  them,  notwithstanding  my  assertions  to  the 
contrary.  I regret  that  nominations  about  to  be  made  upon 
the  recommendations  of  the  Representatives  of  the  State,  of  men 
selected  alone  for  their  capacity  to  perform  the  duties  of  the  office 
to  w'hich  they  were  to  be  appointed,  should  have  been  prevented 
by  a mistake,  which  could  have  been  so  easily  avoided. 

So  far  as  regards  Gen.  Preston  and  Gen.  Newman,  there  is 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


289 


no  probability  that  either  would  accept  the  appointment  of  Com- 
missioner. I have  already  stated  to  the  President  that  Mr. 
Cuthbert  is  a man  of  respectable  character  and  talents.  The 
objections  to  his  appointment  are,  that  he  has  none  of  the  pecu- 
liar qualifications  necessary  in  public  agents  who  would  transact 
business  with  the  Indians.  He  has  no  knowledge  of  Indian 
character  and  manners,  and  nothing  in  his  own  character  or 
manners  which  would  be  very  imposing  upon  savages.  There 
is  another  strong  objection  to  the  appointment  of  Mr.  Cuthbert, 
arising  from  the  manner  in  which  he  has  been  recommended. 
The  President  cannot  be  ignorant  of  the  violence  of  the  parties 
which  agitated  the  State  of  Georgia  in  the  late  election  of  its 
Governor,  and  the  attempt  rvhich  has  been  made  to  connect  those 
parties  with  the  more  extensive  parties  which  are  now  forming 
throughout  the  Union.  Mr.  Cuthbert  took  an  active  part  in  fa- 
vor of  the  present  Governor.  Immediately  after  the  election,  re- 
commendations were  sent  to  the  Secretary  of  War  by  the  Gover- 
nor and  two  of  his  most  active  partisans,  for  the  appointment  of 
commissioners  to  hold  treaties  with  the  Indians,  long  before  any 
such  office  was  created,  or  any  appropriation  made  for  that  pur- 
pose, or  indeed  any  report  made  to  Congress  upon  the  subject  of 
Indian  land  in  Georgia.  There  can  be  no  mistake  with  regard 
to  the  motives  which  have  produced  the  recommendations  of  Mr. 
Cuthbert,  and  of  his  being  pressed  as  he  has  been  upon  the  Pre- 
sident. Individually,  and  in  the  name  of  my  constituents,  I protest 
against  the  appointment  of  any  man  under  such  circumstances. 

The  President  will  have  discovered  by  the  written  communi- 
cation sent  him  on  the  9th  inst.  by  Messrs.  Ware,  Reid,  and 
myself,  that  the  Representatives  from  Georgia  had  intended 
sending  the  names  of  more  persons  than  were  communicated  when 
we  had  the  honor  of  waiting  upon  him  personally.  This  change 
tookplace  in  consequence  of  the  belief  that  Gen.  Floyd, Maj.  James 
Meriwether  and  Col . W arren  Jourdan,  from  their  acquaintance  with 
the  Indians,  and  high  reputation  among  them,  would  probably 
serve  the  country  more  effectually  in  treating  with  them  than  any 
other  persons.  Gen.  Floyd  has  the  reputation  of  being  a man 
of  talents,  and  high  honorable  character.  His  success  in  the 
expedition  which  he  commanded  against  the  Indians,  is  calcu- 
lated to  give  him  great  weight  with  those  people.  I have  never 
19 


290 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


known  of  his  having  been  engaged  in  political,  or  party  strife. 
He  has  never  been  in  the  Legislature,  or  held  any  office  of  pub- 
lic importance  in  Georgia,  except  military,  since  I have  had  any 
knowledge  of  public  affairs.  He  was  appointed  a commissioner  to 
hold  the  treaty  with  the  Creek  Indians  in  1820,  but  from  some 
family  misfortune  could  not  accept.  The  difficulty  which  then 
existed  is  now  removed. 

Maj.  James  Meriwether  is  the  son  of  Gen.  David  Meriwe- 
ther, who  has  been  employed  by  the  Government  to  hold  treaties 
with  the  Indians  on  several  occasions,  and  who  would  again  have 
been  recommended  but  for  his  state  of  health.  Maj.  Meriwe- 
ther is  a trustee  of  the  University  of  Georgia,  a member  of  the 
Legislature,  a man  of  talents  and  integrity.  For  the  last  twenty 
years  he  has  resided  within  a few  miles  of  the  Creek  and  Che- 
rokee frontiers.  He  commanded  a company  in  the  expedition 
against  the  Creek  Indians,  under  Gen.  Floyd. 

Col.  Warren  Jourdan  has  been  frequently  a member  of  the 
Legislature,  is  a man  of  talents  and  character,  with  person  and 
manners  peculiarly  calculated  to  render  him  useful  for  the  ser- 
vice required.  He  was  recommended  to  the  President  for  the 
same  appointment  in  1820. 

I have  been  thus  particular,  that  the  President  may  be  satis- 
fied that  the  members  of  Congress  from  Georgia  were  actuated 
by  no  motives  but  public  duty,  in  recommending  Messrs.  Floyd, 
Meriwether  and  Jourdan.  Messrs.  Walker,  Wild  and  Crawford 
are,  either  of  them,  equal  in  every  respect  to  Mr.  Cuthbert. 
These  last  gentlemen  were  withdrawn,  because  it  was  believed 
that  those  who  were  recommended  possessed  some  qualifications 
for  the  appointment  of  Commissioners,  which  those  gentlemen 
did  not.  If  we  had  been  governed  by  the  motive  which  the 
Secretary  of  War  intimated  when  he  asked  me  in  the  presence 
of  the  President,  whether  Col.  Jourdan  was  the  brother-in-law 
of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  we  would  certainly  have  re- 
commended Messrs.  Walker,  Wild  and  Crawford,  as  having  far 
more  political  influence  than  the  gentlemen  who  were  recom- 
mended. 

I have  written  thus  much  from  a sense  of  duty  to  my  constituents. 
I have  myself  taken  great  interest  in  the  extinguishment  of  the 
Indian  title  to  lands  in  Georgia,  both  as  a member  of  the  Legis- 


1’IEST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


291 


lature  of  that  State,  and  a member  of  the  present  Congress.  I 
believe  the  difficulties  in  removing  the  Indians  from  Georgia  are 
continually  increasing.  I therefore  protest  against  any  political 
intrigue  interfering  with  the  accomplishment  of  that  important 
object. 

I inclose  a copy  of  the  papers  sent  me  by  the  Secretary  of 
War,  lest  the  President  might  not  be  informed  of  the  extraordi- 
nary mistake  committed  by  the  Secretary,  and  continue  to  act 
under  it. 

I trust  that  the  interest  which  I have  taken  in  the  subject  of 
this  letter,  will  be  my  sufficient  excuse  for  making  syck  large 
claims  upon  the  attention  of  the  President. 

With  the  highest  respect, 

Tour  obt.  servant, 

George  R.  Gilmer.’1 

After  remaining  at  Saratoga  a few  weeks,  I went 
to  Virginia.  I was  soon  afterwards  married.  This 
event,  the  happiest,  and  the  only  one  of  any  really 
great  importance  to  myself  wliicli  had  happened  to 
me,  was  too  engrossingly  selfish  from  the  circumstances 
which  attended  it,  to  he  of  any  importance  to  others. 
My  wife  and  myself  were  first  cousins.  We  were  with 
mutual  family  friends,  who  were  the  hest  of  people, 
and  with  whom  we  were  special  favorites.  Time 
passed  away  without  any  measure  for  its  fleeting  mo- 
ments. After  a while  we  came  to  Georgia.  The 
evening  we  arrived  at  my  mother’s,  we  were  expected. 
The  family  were  assembled.  All  the  negroes  were 
about  the  house.  They  set  up  a great  shout,  “ Massa 
George  is  married  and  come  home.”  They  took  my 
wife  from  the  carriage  and  carried  her  in  triumph  to 
the  house.  My  brothers  had  all  married  by  the  time 
they  were  twenty-one,  and  my  sisters  much  younger. 
I had  grown  old  enough  to  make  my  marriage  un- 
looked for. 


292 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


I went  to  profession  or  business  witli  eagerness, 
supposing  tliat  what  had  happened  to  others  would  be 
our  fate,  and  that  labor  would  have  its  rewards  in- 
creased by  the  objects  of  care  for  whom  the  exertion 
was  made.  Our  anticipations  were  not  realized.  I 
doubt  not,  happily  for  us.  Time  has  never  dragged. 
W e can  never  be  without  matters  to  interest  us  whilst 
we  are  spared  to  each  other.  Exertion  finds  its  best 
compensation  in  contented,  happy  spirits.  As  to  its 
profits,  Madam  disposes  of  them  easily,  and  with  great 
pleasure. 

The  courts  over,  I returned  to  my  service  in  Con- 
gress. During  the  Christmas  holidays  I visited  Mr. 
Taliaferro,  of  Orange,  Virginia.  There  I found  my 
wife  and  her  sister,  Lucy  Grattan.  They  accompanied 
me  back  to  Washington  City.  Lucy  Grattan  was 
seventeen,  and  the  most  perfect  sample  of  youthful 
beauty  and  joyous  hilarity  which  belonged  to  the  ro- 
mantic valley  of  the  Shenandoah.  She  attended,  with 
my  wife,  the  winter  parties,  and  for  some  weeks  aston- 
ished the  modish  beings  of  conventional  society  by  her 
freedom  from  form,  the  sprightly,  elastic  step  witli 
which  she  danced ; and  occasionally  startled  the  Senate 
and  House  of  Representatives  by  a laugh  so  loud  and 
joyous  as  to  attract  all  ears  and  eyes. 

I had  been  living  with  a mess  not  very  well  situ- 
ated for  ladies : Harden,  of  Kentucky ; Blair,  of  Ca- 
rolina ; Thomson  and  Abbat,  of  Georgia ; Smith,  of 
Virginia;  and  Allen,  of  Tennessee.  I took  rooms  at 
Dawson's,  in  the  mess  of  Mr.  Randolph,  Macon,  Col. 
and  Mrs.  Benton,  Tatnall,  Elliot,  Archer,  Burton,  and 
Jones,  of  Tennessee.  Mrs.  Benton  and  my  wife  were 
from  the  same  part  of  Virginia,  and  had  been  friends 
and  schoolmates  when  young  ladies.  Archer  ' had 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


298 


been  in  the  same  society  with  my  wife  in  Richmond 
some  years  before.  He  was  under  an  hereditary  obliga- 
tion to  be  specially  civil  to  every  one  of  the  Gilmer 
family.  His  father  was  a member  of  the  Virginia  Leg- 
islature when  Col.  Tarleton  dispersed  that  body  when 
sitting  in  Charlottesville,  and  was  cut  down  in  the  street 
by  a dragoon,  and  his  life  saved  by  Mrs.  George  Gil- 
mer running  from  her  house  to  where  he  was  in  pos- 
session of  the  British  soldiers,  begging  for  his  life,  hav- 
ing him  carried  into  Hr.  Gilmer’s  house,  and  nursed 
until  he  was  able  to  go  to  his  home.  Col.  Elliot  and 
Tatnall  were  old  Georgia  friends.  Col.  Randolph,  of 
Tuekahoe,  married  the  daughter  of  Col.  Harvie  (after- 
wards Mrs.  Hr.  Brokenborough,  of  Richmond),  my  kins- 
woman, with  whom  Mr.  John  Randolph  was  very  inti- 
mate. Mr.  Macon  was  the  special  friend  of  Mr.  Craw- 
ford, my  father’s  neighbor  and  friend. 

In  the  summer  we  returned  to  Georgia.  My  wife 
went  to  housekeepiug,  and  I to  the  law. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Ik  1824,  Gen.  Jackson,  Mr.  Adams,  Mr.  Crawford,  and 
Mr.  Clay  contended  for  the  presidency.  I went  into 
the  Senate  from  Oglethorpe  County  for  the  purpose  of 
aiding  to  elect  electors  who  would  vote  for  Mr.  Craw- 
ford. Mr.  Crawford’s  body  and  mind  had  been  very 
injuriously  affected  some  months  before  by  an  attack 
of  paralysis.  His  advocates  in  Washington  City  as- 
sured the  public,  that  the  effects  of  the  attack  would 
not  disqualify  him  for  the  discharge  of  the  duties  of 
the  presidential  office  if  elected.  I believed  what  they 


294: 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


said.  Some  time  before  tlie  election  of  electors  came 
on,  I received  a short  letter  from  Mr.  Crawford,  writ- 
ten cornerwise  instead  of  across  the  paper,  and  seem- 
ingly with  a blunt  stick  instead  of  a pen,  requesting 
me,  as  his  known  friend,  to  introduce  resolutions  into 
the  Legislature  to  alter  the  constitution,  so  as  to  give 
to  Congress  the  power  to  make  internal  improvements 
in  the  State,  for  the  purpose  of  removing  objections  to 
him  on  account  of  the  course  pursued  by  his  political 
friends  on  that  subject.  The  manner  of  this  letter 
was  as  bad  as  it  well  could  be  ; but  the  matter  was 
still  worse  ; because  he  knew  my  opinions  to  be  against 
the  proposition  which  he  desired  me  to  make.  I had 
been  sent  to  the  Legislature  by  the  people  of  Ogle- 
thorpe for  the  purpose  of  voting  for  him  after  his  sick- 
ness was  known.  In  my  embarrassment  I called  upon 
Mr.  Peter  Crawford,  the  Senator  from  Columbia 
County,  his  kinsman,  stated  to  him  my  difficulties,  and 
showed  him  the  letter  which  I had  received.  He 
pulled  from  his  pocket  a similar  one,  and  confessed 
himself  equally  at  fault.  We  concluded  that  nothing 
could  then  be  done  but  to  go  on  and  do  what  our  con- 
stituents had  elected  us  to  do. 

On  our  way  to  Milledgeville  and  a few  miles  from 
town,  John  Abercromby  overtook  us.  He  requested 
me  to  take  a seat  in  his  carriage,  for  the  purpose  of 
consulting  about  some  public  matters.  When  we 
arrived  at  the  river,  I returned  to  my  carriage.  I 
found  my  wife  very  much  put  out.  She  said  that  she 
was  ashamed  to  be  seen  alone  by  the  crowds  who 
passed  the  carriage ; and  that  she  was  not  accustomed 
to  be  left  by  her  escort,  for  the  company  of  gentlemen. 
It  took  hard  courting  to  reconcile  her  to  the  necessities 
of  a politician.  Col.  Hamilton  invited  Mr.  Peter 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


2-5 


Crawford,  Mr.  Prince  and  myself,  to  dine  with  the 
electors  of  President  and  Vice-President  at  his  house 
on  the  day  they  gave  their  votes,  as  the  special 
friends  of  Mr.  Win.  H.  Crawford.  I left  the  Senate 
Chamber  in  time  to  go  by  my  boarding-house,  to  see 
my  Avife,  whilst  Mr.  Prince  went  on  to  Col.  Hamilton’s. 
During  my  absence,  Col.  Tom  Foster  called  to  see  m37 
wife.  When  he  went  into  the  drawing-room,  it  was 
evident  that  she  had  been  in  tears.  He  Avas  alarmed, 
lest  some  great  family  misfortune  had  happened ; and 
being  a very  intimate  friend,  took  the  liberty  of  asking 
her  what  was  the  matter.  She  frankly  told  him,  that 
she  could  not  bear  for  her  husband  to  leave  her,  in 
search  of  pleasure.  The  Colonel  explained  to  her,  that 
I could  not  well  avoid  doing  Avhat  I had  done.  When 
I returned,  she  sat  down  on  my  knees,  put  her  arms 
around  my  neck,  and  told  me  how  Col.  Foster  had 
found  her  crying,  and  her  telling  him  the  cause.  And 
although  she  Avas  then  acknoAvledging  that  she  had 
behaved  like  a child,  she  said,  My  dear  George,  whilst 
I lh7e,  I must  live  with  you.  And  yet  whenever  duty 
or  business  called  me,  she  never  delayed  or  prevented 
my  going,  but  ahvays  urged  me  on,  and  aided  me  in 
getting  ready.  I never  lost  a da}7  from  the  Courts, 
the  Legislature,  Congress,  or  the  Executive  department, 
at  her  intercession. 

When  I was  last  in  Congress,  the  celebrated  actor,. 
Powers,  Avas  performing  in  Washington  City.  Mr.  JB. 
W.  Leigh  requested  me  to  accompany  him  one  night 
to  the  theatre,  Avhere  a play  particularly  suited  to 
Powers’  talents  Avas  to  be  acted.  When  I proposed  to 
my  wife  to  go,  she  said  that  the  church  to  Avliich  she 
belonged  did  not  tolerate  plays  at  all,  and  that  she 
could  not  offend  it ; but  insisted  that  I should  go.  I 


2!)  6 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


dicl.  But  my  enjoyments  had  so  long  derived  their 
relish  from  sympathy  with  her,  that  I returned  home 
tired,  and  with  the  opinion  that  I had  seen  many  a 
schoolboy  act  better  than  Powers.  These  are  the  only 
times  when  I have  voluntarily  sought  pleasure  in  the 
society  of  others,  apart  from  my  wife,  for  the  thirty-two 
years  we  have  been  married. 

From  1824  to  1827,  I was  engaged  in  the  practice 
of  law,  without  any  interruption  from  public^  business. 
In  newly  settled  countries,  all  are  in  movement.  Each 
one  presses  eagerly  forward.^  Expectation  is  ever  on 
the  tip-toe  for  coming  events.  Nobody  has  time  or  in- 
clination to  look  back,  or  examine  into  what  has  been 
done.  All  die,  though  nobody  seems  to  think  so. 
Many  persons  in  Georgia  availed  themselves,  in  former 
times,  of  the  loose  administration  of  the  estates  of  de- 
ceased persons,  to  appropriate  property  to  themselves 
which  did  not  rightfully  belong  to  them.  There  was 
no  settled  public  opinion,  to  control  the  dishonest  by 
a sense  of  its  supervision.  Under  the  full  press  of  the 
universal  struggle  for  money,  unsecured  rights  were 
often  lost.  It  was  the  observation  of  one  of  the  shrewd- 
est old  Georgians,  that  the  administration  of  two  large 
estates,  in  the  hands  of  a skilful  and  unscrupulous  ad- 
ministrator, was  worth  a fortune.  Administrators 
moved  off  to  newly  acquired  territories,  to  Alabama, 
Mississippi,  or  elsewhere,  before  they  could  be  called  to 
an  account,  or  the  children  themselves  dispersed  before 
they  received  what  belonged  to  them.  Very  few  un- 
derstood how  to  examine  into  the  accuracy  of  the  re- 
turns of  administrators  and  executors.  Lawsuits  were 
formerly  seldom  resorted  to  for  the  settlement  of  the 
estates  of  deceased  persons. 

In  1822,  William  B died.  He  was  an  old  man, 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


297 


a bachelor,  and  wealthy.  He  left  no  will.  His  estate 
belonged  to  Jonathan,  his  only  brother  then  living, 
and  the  children  of  numerous  deceased  brothers  and 
sisters.  Jonathan  B— , the  brother,  and  Henry 
B— — , a nephew,  administered  on  his  estate.  Jonathan 

B was  a very  old,  weak,  and  inefficient  man. 

Henry  B was  in  the  full  vigor  of  life,  had  some 

property,  and  a large  family.  He  was  a drinking, 
turbulent,  fighting,  smart,  unprincipled  man.  The 
management  of  William  B ’s  estate  was  monopo- 

lized by  him.  Instead  of  distributing,  he  sold  the  whole 
estate  for  the  purpose  of  getting  five  per  cent,  upon  the 
entire  sum  of  its  value.  Most  of  the  kin,  entitled  to 
share  it,  lived  in  distant  States,  were  poor,  ignorant, 
and  without  the  means  of  enforcing  their  lights,  if  they 
had  known  them.  Those  in  Oglethorpe  and  the  neigh- 
boring counties,  purchased  property  at  the  sale  of  the 
estate,  at  very  high  prices,  and  fully  equal  to  their 
shares  ; and  being  poor,  were  all  in  the  administrator’s 

power.  Henry  B kept  the  money  for  which  the 

estate  was  sold  for  years,  without  making  any  move- 
ment towards  the  distribution,  and  until  it  entered  into 
his  head  that  he  might  keep  the  whole,  or  most  of  it, 
without  making  any  distribution  at  all.  The  nearest 

distributee  out  of  the  State  was  Henry  B ’s  own 

brother-in-law.  He  came  to  Georgia,  and  applied  to 
him  for  his  share,  or  rather  his  wife’s  share,  of  her  uncle’s 
estate.  Henry  B denied  any  knowledge  of  him. 

After  long  delay,  a few  of  the  distributees  applied 
to  me  for  the  enforcement  of  their  rights.  In  bringing: 
the  bill  for  that  purpose,  it  was  necessary  to  make  all 
the  persons  in  interest  parties.  The  distributees  who 
were  suing,  had  no  desire  to  share  the  estate  with  those 
who  were  so  distant  that  they  might  never  know  any 


298 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


tiling  of  their  rights.  If  permitted,  they  would  have 
sued  without  them.  It  required  tiiue  and  labor  to 
ascertain  the  names  and  residences  of  all  who  were 
interested.  After  much  unavoidable  delay,  I brought 
a bill  in  equity  for  the  distributees,  against  Iienry 

B , returnable  to  the  Superior  Court  of  Oglethorpe 

at  the  April  term,  1820.  At  the  trial  term,  thereafter, 

Henry  B suffered  me  to  take  a judgment  against 

him  without  defence.  At  the  trial  term  of  the  appeal, 
October  1828,  he  made  an  effort  to  engage  counsel  to 
assist  the  novice  whom  he  had  employed;  but  the  fee 
lie  offered  was  so  insignificant,  that  no  lawyer  would 
accept  it.  The  case  was  tried  by  a special  jury,  com- 
posed of  the  best  informed,  and  most  upright  citizens 
of  the  county.  I had  applied  great  labor  to  the  investi- 
gation of  all  the  particulars  of  the  case,  and  was  fully 
prepared  to  explain  its  merits  to  the  jury.  It  was  the 
most  important,  for  the  amount  of  property  involved, 
which  had  ever  been  tried  in  the  up  country.  Henry 
B ’s  brothers,  Bichard  and  Thomas,  had  been  fre- 

quently sheriff’  of  the  county,  and  its  Representatives 
in  the  Legislature.  I was  forced,  by  the  pressure  of 
my  responsibility,  to  the  exertion  of  whatever  capacity 
I had,  to  bring  the  suit  to  a favorable  issue.  When  I 
addressed  the  jury,  I pointed  out  each. instance  of  the 
administrator’s  betrayal  of  his  trust  in  the  strongest 

terms.  Whilst  I was  speaking,  Henry  B stood 

near  me  with  a large  stick  in  his  hand,  which  he  was 
accustomed  to  apply  with  great  power  to  the  heads  of 
others.  As  I exposed  his  rascality,  he  repeatedly  ap- 
pealed to  Judge  William  H.  Crawford,  for  the  protec- 
tion of  the  court  against  my  abuse.  The  judge  answered 

as  often,  “ Take  your  seat,  Mr.  B . It  is  no  abuse. 

Sir,  it  is  no  abuse.”  The  jury  brought  in  a verdict  for 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


299 


the  full  amount  of  all  I claimed  for  my  clients,  and 
fourteen  per  cent,  damages  for  a frivolous  appeal. 

The  result  of  Henry  B ’s  administration  of  his 

uncle  William  B— — ’s  estate,  became  well  known. 
Administrators  and  executors  perceived  that  the  time 
had  passed  by  when  they  could  acquire  fortunes  out  of 
the  management  of  their  trusts,  at  the  expense  of  wid- 
ows and  orphans,  and  became  content  with  their  lawful 
fees.  Few  acts  of  my  life  have  been  so  beneficial  to 
society  as  the  disgrace  which  I caused  to  the  adminis- 
trator, B , for  his  knavery. 

I went  to  Virginia  in  1825.  Whilst  there,  I visited 
Mr.  Jefferson  at  Monticello.  He  was  still  erect,  his 
reddish  hair  but  slightly  gray,  his  complexion  florid, 
and  his  countenance  intellectual.  He  described  his 
plan  for  making  the  University,  near  Charlottesville, 
then  under  his  particular  direction,  the  great  seat  of 
learning  for  the  Southern  States.  His  advanced  age 
and  valuable  public  services,  eminent  abilities,  social 
qualities,  and  controlling  influence  in  organizing  and 
giving  direction  to  the  democratic  republican  party, 
made  him  an  object  of  special  interest.  It  was  indeed 
surprising  to  see  one  so  old,  who  had  been  so  industri- 
ously employed  in  discharging  the  most  difficult  public 
duties,  so  intent  upon  what  he  had  yet  to  do. 

Col.  Tatn all’s  health  became  so  bad  in  1827,  that 
be  resigned  his  seat  in  Congress.  I was  elected  to  fill 
the  vacancy.  He  was  born  at  Bonaventura,  four 
miles  below  the  city  of  Savannah..  His  father, 
Josiali  Tatnall,  was  one  of  the  most  popular  and 
patriotic  public  men  who  has  ever  served  the  State  of 
Georgia.  He  was  a youth  at  the  commencement  of  the 
Revolutionary  war.  The  kinsman  who  had  charge  of 
him  (his  father  being  dead),  carried  him  aboard  the 


300 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


vessel  which  was  to  convey  himself  and  family  to  Eng- 
land. He  jumped  into  the  Savannah  River,  before  the 
vessel  got  to  sea,  and  swam  ashore.  lie  was,  however, 
forced  away,  and  never  found  an  opportunity  of  return- 
ing until  near  the  close  of  the  war.  This  patriotism 
was  rewarded  by  the  unlimited  confidence  of  the  State. 
He  was  the  Representative  of  the  people  in  Congress, 
their  Governor,  and  might  have  had  any  other  office  in 
their  gift,  had  he  so  desired.  He  died  in  the  prime  of 
life,  leaving  two  sons,  Edward  Fenwick  and  Josiah,  and 
one  daughter.  Edward  Fenwick  received  his  early 
education  in  England.  He  was  at  a school  in  Hamp- 
stead, in  1802,  when  Napoleon  was  threatening  England 
with  invasion.  I have  heard  him  tell,  with  renewed 
excitement,  how  he  felt  the  desire  to  fight,  as  he  listened 
to  an  English  yeoman  marching  for  the  coast,  talking  of 
his  resolution  to  stand  by  his  country  to  death,  against 
her  foes,  the  French.  Col.  Hamilton,  who  commanded 
the  English  mulatto  regiment  in  the  service  of  the 
British  Government  in  the  Revolutionary  war,  was  his 
uncle.  He  resided  in  London,  where  Col.  Tatnall  had 
other  relations  of  wealth  and  distinction.  I do  not 
know  at  what  time  Edward  F.  Tatnall  returned  to 
Georgia.  He  finished  his  collegiate  education  at  Prince- 
ton College,  and  afterwards  attended  the  law  school  at 
Litchfield.  He  was  licensed  to  practise  by  the  Superior 
Court  of  Chatham,  in  1813,  and  was  soon  afterwards 
appointed  Captain  in  the  43d  regiment.  In  1814,  he 
was  ordered  with  his  company  to  the  seaboard,  and 
stationed  at  Point  Peter,  under  the  command  of  Major 
Massias.  Several  British  war  vessels  were  then  on  the 
Georgia  coast.  An  attack  was  made  on  Point  Peter. 

O 

Massias  fled,  notwithstanding  the  strongest  remon- 
strances from  Captain  Tatnall.  He  was  pursued  by  a 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


301 


British,  detachment.  A skirmish  ensued,  in  which 
Captain  Tatnall,  by  constantly  fronting  the  enemy, 
exposing  his  person  every  where,  and  setting  an  example 
of  indifference  to  danger,  was  severely  wounded. 

Whilst  Captain  Tatnall  was  at  Point  Peter,  the 
Spanish  officer  on  Amelia  Island  gave  a ball  to  the 
merchants  and  their  families.  The  place  attracted  to 
it  at  that  time  many  persons,  on  account  of  the  facili- 
ties which  it  afforded  for  carrying  on  trade.  The 
officers  at  Point  Peter  were  invited.  The  ball  was 
opened  offensively  to  the  Spanish  Commandant,  by  the 
omission  to  place  his  wife  at  the  head  of  the  first  dance. 
The  Spanish  soldiers  were  ordered  into  the  ball-room, 
accoutred  with  their  full  complement  of  arms,  and 
commanded  to  disperse  the  company.  The  utmost 
alarm  prevailed  among  the  ladies  and  their  husbands. 
Some  hid  in  one  place  and  some  in  another.  Captain 
Tatnall  and  Lieutenant  Holt  defended  themselves  as 
they  could,  whilst  they  made  for  the  sea  shore,  where 
they  had  left  the  boat  in  which  they  had  passed  the 
strait  from  Point  Peter  with  a squad  of  four  soldiers. 
With  these  soldiers  they  returned  to  the  ball-room, 
drove  the  Spanish  officer  and  his  men  from  the  house, 
collected  the  affrighted  company,  and  attempted  to 
renew  the  dancing;  but  the  spirit  of  jollity  was  gone, 
and  the  party  dispersed.  On  the  next  morning  Capt. 
Tatnall  sent  a challenge  to  the  Spanish  Commander. 
Upon  his  declining  to  fight,  he  made  a representation 
of  his  conduct  to  the  Governor  of  Florida,  who  put  his 
inferior  into  chains,  and  sent  him  to  old  Spaiu  to  be 
tried  for  cowardice. 

Captain  Tatnall  resigned  his  commission  in  the 
army  upon  the  return  of  peace. 

On  the  14th  of  July,  1818,  he  and  myself  made  our 


302 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


first  political  speeches  : he  in  Savannah,  and  I in  Lex- 
ington. We  were  both  members  of  the  Legislature 
for  the  first  time  in  1818.  We  belonged  to  the  same 
political  party,  and  usually  acted  together  with  great 
cordiality  in  the  support  of  the  same  measures.  In 
1820,  Colonel  Tatnall  and  myself  were  elected  mem- 
bers of  Congress  by  almost  the  same  number  of  votes, 
there  being  only  the  difference  of  four  after  twenty 
thousand  had  been  counted.  The  leading  men  of 
Chatham  were  at  that  time  disposed  to  undervalue  the 
men  of  the  up  country,  and  showed  it  by  inducing  the 
people  to  vote  only  for  gentlemen  of  the  low  country 
when  they  were  candidates  with  citizens  of  the  up 
country.  At  the  election,  when  Colonel  Tatnall  and 
myself  first  offered  for  Congress,  Alfred  Cuthbert  of 
Savannah  was  also  a candidate.  On  the  day  of  the 
election,  Colonel  Tatnall  was  dangerously  ill  at  his 
home,  several  miles  below  Savannah.  So  certain  were 
his  friends  that  he  would  die,  that  some  one  proposed 
to  him  that  his  name  should  be  withdrawn  from  the 
canvass ; to  which  he  would  have  consented  if  his  with- 
drawal could  have  been  made  known  at  all  the  other 
places  of  election  throughout  the  State.  In  the  even- 
ing, whilst  there  was  scarcely  a hope  of  his  living,  he 
inquired  if  an  arrangement  had  been  made  for  having 
his  friend  voted  for.  Being  answered  in  the  negative, 
he  insisted  that  they  should  go  up  to  the  city,  and  can- 
vass for  him. 

The  treaty  with  the  Creek  Indians,  made  by  Meri- 
wether and  Campbell,  which  had  produced  great 
excitement  throughout  the  country,  was  quieted  by  the 
amendatory  treaty  of  Washington  City.  Feelings  of 
ill-will  had,  however,  been  excited  among  the  members 
of  the  Georgia  Delegation,  on  account  of  the  different 

O 0 7 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


303 


course  pursued  by  them  when  the  treaty  was  under 
consideration.  The  opposition  to  the  first  treaty,  on 
the  part  of  the  President  and  members  of  Congress, 
was  occasioned,  as  they  avowed,  by  the  large  sums 
expended  by  the  commissioners  in  bringing  it  about, 
though  much  after  the  manner  of  making  previous 
Indian  treaties.  The  members  of  Congress  who  under- 
stood  and  acted  under  the  obligation  created  by  the 
contract  of  the  United  States  to  extinguish  for  Georgia 
the  title  of  the  Indians  to  lands  within  its  limits,  were 
in  danger  of  losing  their  seats,  by  takiug  an  active  part 
in  favor  of  the  first  treaty.  They  persuaded  the  mem- 
bers from  Georgia  to  have  a meeting,  and  agree  to  let 
what  had  been  done  by  the  commissioners  pass  sub 
silentio.  Mr.  Forsyth,  however,  said  he  would  speak. 
When  the  treaty  was  before  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives, Colonel  Tatnall  rose  and  observed,  that  the 
Georgia  Delegation  were  not  prepared  to  discuss  it. 
Mr.  Forsyth  spoke.  The  people  of  Georgia  lauded 
Mr.  Forsyth  to  the  skies  for  doing  what  endangered 
their  interest ; whilst  Colonel  Tatnall  became  unpopu- 
lar on  account  of  his  forgetfulness  of  himself  in  serving 
his  constituents  and  the  friends  of  Georgia. 

Colonel  Tatnall’s  person  was  erect  and  perfectly 
formed,  with  delicate  hands  and  small  feet.  Our  peo- 
ple, from  the  President  down,  are  all  men  of  work,  and 
show  it  more  or  less.  Looking  at  Colonel  Tatnall,  you 
knew  that  he  had  never  labored  with  his  hands.  He 
appeared  much  larger  than  he  was.  His  walk  was 
always  with  a lofty,  military  gait,  and  measured  tread. 
He  was  something  more  than  fearless.  His  spirit  was 
the  essence  of  chivalry.  He  preferred  death  to  the 
slightest  coloring  of  dishonor.  He  risked  his  life,  and 
was  near  losing  it  several  times,  that  he  might  be  con- 


304: 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


si  tiered  above  wrong  doing.  He  stood  by  liis  country 
and  bis  friends  as  be  stood  by  bimself.  He  would  bave 
gloried  in  offering  up  bis  life,  if  bis  country’s  safety  bad 
required  tbe  sacrifice.  If  bis  bravery,  generous  unself- 
ishness, noble  gallantry,  and  vigorous  execution,  bad 
been  accompanied  by  corresponding  ready  conception, 
and  forcible  ratiocination,  be  would  bave  been  tbe  great 
man  of  bis  country.  He  was  fitted  for  command  ratber 
tban  popular  service — for  rank  ratber  than  equality. 
He  died  before  middle  manhood,  prostrated  by  disease 
in  mind  and  body. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

Increased  experience  and  observation  of  tbe  world 
made  public  service,  upon  my  return  to  Congress,  much 
more  agreeable  tban  my  first  term  bad  been.  Tbe 
wiry  edge  of  political  zeal  bad  become  tempered.  I 
bad  learned  that  tbe  country  was  not  ruined  by  tbe 
Government  pursuing  a course  of  policy  different  from 
what  I thought  best  I associated  freely  and  cordially 
with  tbe  members  of  opposite  party  opinions. 

There  was  a great  contest  for  mastery  between  Na- 
poleon Bonaparte,  at  tbe  bead  of  tbe  French  people, 
and  tbe  Government  of  Great  Britain,  from  tbe  latter 
part  of  tbe  eighteenth  century  to  some  time  in  tbe  nine- 
teenth. They  acted  as  if  no  countries  bad  rights,  or 
were  worth  consideration,  but  their  own.  Tbe  British 
King  passed  orders  in  council,  announcing  that  tbe 
coast  of  France  was  under  blockade ; so  that  American 
vessels  should  not  carry  supplies  to  tbe  French  without 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


305 


being  subject  to  be  made  British  property.  Bonaparte, 
on  the  other  hand,  made  liable  to  capture  all  American 
vessels  which  should  enter  the  ports  of  Great  Britain. 
Between  the  two,  the  people  of  this  country  appeared 
to  be  in  a bad  fix  for  carrying  on  commerce.  But 
the  Yankees — our  traders — were  full  of  expedients. 
Though  they  lost  often  by  the  British  orders  and 
French  edicts,  their  losses  were  usually  made  up  by 
their  fortunate  ventures. 

Our  Southern  people  got  on  their  high  horse  on 
account  of  the  insolence  of  the  King  of  Great  Britain 
and  the  Emperor  of  France.  They  insisted  that  the 
Yankees  should  not  trade  with  the  English  or  French, 
unless  upon  equal  terms  and  aboveboard. 

Congress  passed  embargo  and  non-intercourse  laws 
to  shut  up  the  Yankee  vessels  in  their  own  harbors  to 
rot,  to  prevent  their  capture  and  confiscation  by  Great 
Britain  and  France.  The  big  talk  of  the  Southerners, 
the  lawlessness  of  Great  Britain,  the  insolence  of  France, 
and  the  tricks  of  the  Yankees,  brought  on  war  with1 
Great  Britain. 

After  the  people  of  the  two  countries  had  kicked 
and  cuffed  each  other  to  their  hearts’  content,  they 
agreed  to  stop  where  they  began — the  jieople  of  the 
United  States  be  in  2:  satisfied  with  the  right  to  crow 
over  the  British  on  account  of  the  great  victory  at  Yew 
Orleans. 

The  embargo,  non-intercourse,  and  war,  so  changed 
the  profits  of  labor  in  the  United  States,  that  new  ave- 
nues were  opened  to  wealth.  The  Northern  people, 
cut  off  from  foreign  trade,  employed  their  money  at 
home.  Instead  of  exchanging  the  cotton  of  the  South 
for  goods  of  the  British  and  French,  the  Yankees  made 
goods  themselves  for  the  supply  of  the  pressing  demands 
20 


306 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


of  the  Southern  people.  When  the  war  ended,  they 
insisted  that,  as  the  Southerners  were  the  authors  of 
the  measures  which  had  caused  the  destruction  of  their 
vessels,  and  the  loss  of  their  foreign  trade,  they  ought 
to  be  made  to  buy  the  goods  which  the  Yankees  had 
been  forced  to  make.  The  Northern,  Middle,  and 
Western  States  made  common  cause  against  the  South. 

O 

Laws  were  passed  by  Congress  to  compel  the  Southern 
people  to  buy  Northern  manufactures,  by  imposing  so 
heavy  a tax  upon  the  same  kind  of  goods  when  brought 
from  foreign  countries,  as  to  make  the  home-made 
cheapest.  One  of  the  legislative  tricks  used  for  this 
purpose,  was  to  tax  imported  goods  upon  a valuation 
greatly  beyond  their  cost,  instead  of  the  merchants’  in- 
voices. It  was  somewhat  in  this  fashion:  Imported 
cloth,  costing  twenty  cents  a yard,  by  a tax  of  thirty 
per  cent,  ought  to  have  paid  six  cents,  but  actually  paid 
twelve  cents,  by  being  valued  as  having  cost  forty 
cents ; so  that  Southern  laborers  paid  for  cloth  twenty 
cents  for  the  original  cost  per  yard,  twelve  cents  for 
duty,  fifty  per  cent,  upon  that  sum  to  the  importer, 
making  forty-eight  cents ; to  the  Southern  merchant 
fifty  per  cent,  upon  that  sum,  making  seventy-two  cents 
if  they  used  foreign  goods ; and,  as  the  Yankees  always 
got  as  much  as  they  could  for  their  manufactures,  but 
little  less  for  the  home  fabric.  The  Yankees  urged 
that,  as  the  Southern  people  had  their  power  in  Con- 
gress enlarged  by  the  representation  of  their  slaves, 
they,  the  Yankees,  ought  to  have  the  benefit  of  cloth- 
ing them.  To  this  argument  the  Southerners  replied, 
that,  as  the  Yankees  had  kidnapped  the  Africans, 
brought  them  from  their  native  country,  and  sold  them 
in  this,  on  account  of  their  aptness  to  serve,  by  taking 
advantage  of  the  indisposition  of  the  Southerners  to 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


807 


make  fires  on  cold  mornings,  black  shoes,  catch  horses, 
wash  clothes,  and  other  dirty  work,  they  had  already 
got  their  advantage,  by  their  great  accumulation  of 
wealth  from  the  traffic. 

The  vexation  of  the  Southerners  increased,  as  the 
measures  of  the  Yankees  became  more  and  more  op- 
pressive. They  became  quite  furious  after  the  passage 
of  the  Tariff  law  of  1827-28,  particularly  in  South  Caroli- 
na and  Georgia.  Public  meetings  were  held  every  where 
in  those  States.  The  people  passed  resolutions  that 
they  would  dress  in  their  own  homespun,  instead  of 
Yankee  cloth,  eat  their  own  hominy  without  the  aid  of 
Kentucky  hogs,  and  walk,  rather  than  ride  Western 
horses.  The  Southern  ladies,  naturally  touchy,  took 
fire  at  being1  dictated  to  about  the  dress  of  their  ser- 
vants.  They  insisted  that  their  husbands,  sons,  and 
brothers  in  Congress,  should  hold  out  a flag  of  defiance 
to  the  Northern  members,  by  dressing  in  cloth  made  by 
their  own  constituents.  All  the  representatives  of  the 
people  of  the  up  country  of  South  Carolina  and  Georgia 
appeared  in  the  Congressional  Hall,  at  the  opening  of 
the  session  of  1828,  dressed  in  homespun.  There  was 
a marked  difference  in  the  appearance  of  the  members 
from  the  two  States.  The  Georgians,  had  Virginia 
mothers  and  wives,  practised  in  making  Virginia  cloth. 
The  South  Carolina  people  were  later  from  the  old  coun- 
try, and  less  skilful  in  the  peculiar  fabrics  of  the  new. 
The  very  becoming  coats  of  the  Georgia  members,  threw 
into  the  shade  the  antiprotective  show-off  of  the  South 
Carolinas.  This  difference  was  immediately  observed, 
and  felt.  Georgia  and  Carolina  had  been  for  some  time 
before,  rivals  in  their  political  strife,  South  Carolina  to 
make  Mr.  Calhoun  President,  and  Georgia  to  give  the 
distinction  to  Mr.  Crawford.  Two  celebrated  combatants 


808 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


had  written,  fought,  and  bled  in  this  cause.  Mr.  McDuf- 
fie was  then  a member.  Ilis  suit  was  made  principally  of 
cotton,  and  so  fine,  that  one  felt  chilled  looking  at  him. 
Nuckols’  coat  was  wool,  dyed  with  copperas  and  bark, 
or  leaves  of  some  fruit  or  forest  tree,  and  so  coarse,  that 
it  stood  off  and  around  him  like  a laboring  woman’s  pet- 
ticoat. My  coat  was  of  cloth  made  of  fine  wool,  dyed 
with  indigo,  and  mixed  in  the  carding  with  black  silk. 
It  was  presented  me  by  one  of  my  female  constituents. 
I had  it  made  by  a tailor  of  taste.  The  cuffs  were  co- 
vered with  the  finest  black  silk  velvet.  It  was  always 
worn  with  a rich  silk  velvet  vest.  It  was  put  on  when  I 
attended  the  sessions  of  the  House,  and  doffed  as  soon 
as  I left  it. 

During  the  winter  of  1829-30,  whilst  I was  Go- 
vernor, I occasionally  wore  this  homespun  coat  of 
mornings,  as  a negligee,  until  I went  to  the  executive 
office.  One  morning  a French  gentleman  came  to  my 
house  in  great  haste,  knocked  at  the  door,  and  upon 
being  admitted  by  myself  in  this  coat,  and  other  shav- 
ing fix,  asked  to  see  the  Governor.  I requested  him  to 
walk  up  stairs,  the  drawing-room  of  the  house  in  which 
I lived  being  in  the  second  story.  F^on  getting  into 
the  room,  he  turned  to  me,  and  repeated  his  request  to 
see  the  Governor. 

My  wife  had  the  prettiest  feet  in  the  world,  such  as 
a Chinese  lady  would  have  envied.  They  were  small, 
delicate,  and  symmetrical.  I have  threatened  a thou- 
sand times  to  kiss  them,  and  as  often  expressed  a wish  to 
have  them  painted  as  a model  for  the  painters  and 
sculptors  of  our  country.  When  we  went  to  Milledge- 
ville,  she  could  get  no  shoes  except  the  shapeless 
things  made  for  girls  before  their  teens.  I wrote  to  my 
friend  Col.  Tom  Foster,  then  in  Washington  City,  to 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


309 


have  made  for  her  a dozen  pair  by  the  shoemaker 
whom  she  had  employed  whilst  I was  in  Congress,  and 
have  them  sent  to  me  in  Milledgeville  by  the  first  safe 
conveyance.  He  executed  the  commission,  by  making 
the  accpiaintance  of  this  French  gentleman,  who  was 
then  on  his  way  from  New  York  to  New  Orleans, 
through  Milledgeville,  getting  him  to  take  charge  of 
the  packet  which  contained  the  shoes,  and  his  promise 
to  deliver  it  himself  to  the  Governor.  Whilst  the 
Frenchman  was  looking  at  me  in  my  homespun,  doubt- 
fully, I was  opening  the  packet.  Upon  exposing  the 
contents  I said,  “ Some  shoes  for  my  wife.”  He  dodged  as 
if  some  plepeian  missile  had  been  sent  at  his  head,  and 
was  off  in  a moment,  losing  all  his  anticipated  pleasure 
of  telling  to  his  coffee-house  companions  in  New  Or- 
leans, how  he  had  acted  as  agent  between  the  authori- 
ties of  the  U.  States,  and  the  Governor  of  Georgia. 

Nuckols,  the  South  Carolina  member,  whose  copperas 
and  walnut-dyed  coat  made  so  great  a display,  was  very 
young  for  his  station,  and  very  new,  with  the  taste  for 
attracting  notice,  so  strong  in  the  Irish  people  and  their 
descendants.  He  had  very  thin  light  flaxen  hair,  and 
a full,  high  forehead  extending  far  back.  We  belonged 
to  the  same  mess.  Some  time  during  the  session  of 
182f-8,  Nuckols  appeared  at  the  dinner-table  with  a 
very  black  wig  coming  down  near  his  eyebrows.  No 
one  knew  him.  During  dinner  Judge  Smith,  wTho  was 
one  of  us,  and  Nuckols’  neighbor  at  home,  asked  where 
Nuckols  was.  Nuckols  answered,  “ Here  am  I.”  Every 
eye  was  upon  his  black  head.  Archer  of  Virginia, 
who  was  sitting  next  him,  turned  fully  round,  and  ask- 
ed, “ Why,  Nuckols,  is  this  you  ? ” Nuckols’  look  of  sim- 
plicity and  strangeness,  and  Archer’s  unaffected  surprise, 
was  too  much  for  restraint.  The  laiudi  would  no  doubt 

O 


310 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


have  been  loud  and  long,  but  for  the  utter  confusion  of 
Nuckols.  It  took  some  persuasion  to  keep  his  big  fist 
from  being  applied  to  Archer’s  head. 

My  wife  and  myself  were  both  taken  dangerously  sick 
in  Athens  at  the  commencement  of  the  summer  of  1828, 
whilst  I was  attending  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  Frank- 
lin College.  My  physician  had  no  knowledge  of  my 
peculiar  constitution,  and  administered  medicines  ac- 
cording to  his  usual  practice.  I was  prostrated  at  once. 
My  wife  was  so  ill  that  she  was  unable  to  take  care  of 
me.  Fortunately  for  us,  Dr.  Henry  Branham  came  to 
see  me  immediately  upon  hearing  of  my  situation,  took 
charge  of  my  case,  and  never  left  me  day  nor  night  un- 
til a change  for  the  better  took  place.  After  going  as 
for  as  Walkersville  on  his  way  home,  he  came  back 
upon  being  informed  that  I was  considered  worse. 

It  is  one  of  the  pleasures  of  life  to  remember  such 
obligations,  and  to  have  the  opportunity  of  returning 
them,  as  I have  since  had  to  Dr.  Branham,  in  a matter 
of  great  interest  to  himself  and  family. 

I was  re-elected  to  Congress  in  1828.  My  wife  and 
myself  left  Georgia  before  the  result  of  the  election 
was  announced.  The  health  of  each  continued  so  feeble, 
that  I considered  it  of  importance  to  go  on  towards 
Washington  City  before  the  weather  became  very  cold. 
I forgot  the  required  formality  of  signifying  to  the 
Governor  my  acceptance.  Gov.  Forsyth,  without  giving 
me  any  intimation  of  his  purpose,  declared  the  seat  in 
Congress,  to  which  I had  been  elected,  vacated,  and 
ordered  a new  election.  I was  then  a member  of  Con- 
gress, attending  to  my  duties  in  Washington  City.  I 
had  offered  for  re-election  by  a public  notice  to  the 
people,  so  that  there  could  have  been  no  doubt  on  the 
part  of  the  Governor  of  my  acceptance.  I had  no  ac- 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


311 


quaintance  with  Mr.  Forsyth,  and  had  taken  a decided 
part  against  his  election  to  the  Senate  of  the  United 
States  in  1818.  A newspaper  altercation  took  place, 
which  ended  by  my  making  the  following  address  to 
the  people : — 

I have  been  waiting  to  ascertain  the  state  of  public  opinion, 
in  order  to  put  an  end  to  the  uncertainty  in  relation  to  my  right 
to  a seat  in  Congress.  I am  now  satisfied  that  the  people  de- 
sire another  election,  although  the  law  which  the  Governor  is  en- 
forcing maybe  unconstitutional.  The  office  of  Representative  of 
the  people  was  created  for  their  benefit,  and  according  to  the  prin- 
ciples of  our  Government;  ought  to  be  exercised  in  pursuance  of 
their  will.  Although  I have  no  doubt  about  my  right  to  that 
office,  I cannot  consent  to  exercise  its  authority  contrary  to  the 
opinion  of  those  by  whom  it  has  been  conferred.  It  is  therefore 
resigned  into  their  hands.  The  people  are  thus  relieved  from 
any  embarrassment  in  voting  for  a Representative  at  the  time 
ordered  by  the  Governor,  and  the  person  whom  they  may  select 
may  take  his  seat  in  Congress,  instead  of  finding  it  constitution- 
ally occupied  by  another. 

Nothing  has  been  so  unpleasant  to  me,  as  the  opinion  I find 
to  be  entertained  by  many,  that  in  defending  the  right  of  the 
people  to  choose  their  Representative  without  restraint  except 
from  the  Constitution,  I have  been  endeavoring  to  sustain  my- 
self in  office.  The  most  important  power  retained  by  the  people, 
had  been  violated  in  my  person.  My  situation  imposed  upon 
me  the  duty  of  resistance.  I have  just  the  same  interest  that 
every  good  citizen  has  in  preserving  unimpaired  the  principles 
of  our  Government.  If  the  people,  however,  desire  the  enforce- 
ment of  a law  violative  of  their  most  invaluable  constitutional 
privileges,  I cannot  oppose  their  wish,  especially  as  it  is  intended 
to  operate  exclusively  upon  myself.  I accepted  the  office  which 
I now  resigned,  because  I believed  it  to  he  the  duty  of  every 
citizen  to  devote  a portion  of  his  time  to  the  public  service  ; and 
because  others,  whose  opinions  I was  bound  to  respect,  believed 
that  I could  be  useful.  I stand  in  no  need  of  assistance  from 
the  public  treasury,  for  my  support.  I am  not  conscious  of 


312 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


having  had  any  selfish  ends  to  answei’,  in  any  act  of  my  public  life. 
No  office  in  the  gift  of  the  people,  or  the  Government,  was  so 
gratifying  to  me  as  that  which  I have  been  compelled  to  resign, 
because  I believed  that  my  opinions  in  relation  to  the  constitu- 
tion and  the  policy  of  the  Federal  Government  really  represented 
those  of  the  people  of  the  State  ; and  because  I had  flattered 
myself  with  the  opinion,  that  if  I could  be  useful  in  any  office  it 
was  in  that.  I have  always  believed  that  the  rights  of  the 
people  and  the  State,  the  continuance  of  our  Union,  and  the 
preservation  of  our  freedom,  depended  upon  the  uniform  adher- 
ence to  the  principles  of  the  Constitution  by  all  the  authorities 
of  our  country.  My  conduct  has  conformed  to  that  belief.  The 
very  first  act  of  my  political  life,  was  the  refusal  to  comply  with 
an  unconstitutional  law  of  the  Legislature  ; and  my  last  is  of  the 
same  character.  I may  have  been  mistaken  ; and  may  yet  be 
so.  There  is,  however,  one  thing  about  which  I cannot  err,  and 
that  is  in  doing  what  I believe  to  be  right.  It  is  a principle  of 
action  that  never  varies,  and  which  I hope  I shall  always  have 
the  firmness  to  pursue. 

Influenced  by  the  desire  to  conform  my  conduct  to  public 
opinion,  I should  be  a candidate  for  re-election,  but  from  the 
conviction  that  my  services  would  be  useless.  The  manner  in 
which  I have  been  deprived  of  the  right  of  representing  the 
people,  after  an  election  duly  made,  will  be  familiar  to  every 
member  of  Congress,  and  will  be  considered  unconstitutional  by 
all.  Were  I,  under  such  circumstances,  to  accept  of  a seat  by 
virtue  of  another  election,  any  effort  on  my  part  to  defend  the 
constitutional  rights  of  the  people,  would  be  met  with  ridicule. 
My  case  has  no  precedent  in  the  history  of  our  Government,  and 
would  be  quoted  upon  me  in  answer  to  all  arguments  upon  such 
subjects.  My  conduct  has  been  too  uniform  and  decided  to  ad- 
mit of  any  doubt  as  to  the  course  I ought  to  pursue.  I must 
either  not  serve  at  all,  or  serve  in  conformity  with  those  prin- 
ciples of  which  I have  been  the  steady  advocate.  I must  be- 
come a selfish  professional  politician  before  I can  accept  of  an 
office  with  the  knowledge  that  no  benefit  could  be  rendered  to 
the  country  ; and  believing  that  much  the  largest  part  of  the 
misdirection  and  corruption  which  has  occurred  in  our  Govern- 
ment has  proceeded  from  that  class  of  men,  I prefer  becoming  a 
private  citizen. 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


813 


I cannot  quit  public  life  without  expressing  my  regret  at  the 
manner  of  its  termination.  The  people  have  always  confided  in 
me  far  beyond  my  capacity  to  serve  them.  I have  felt  the 
strongest  obligations  to  them  for  their  kindness,  and  have  to  the 
best  of  my  abilities  endeavored  to  discharge  that  obligation  by 
honest  services.  Your  fellow-citizen, 

George  R.  Gilmer. 

Lexington,  May  9th , 1829. 


The  session  of  Congress  of  1828-29  was  one  of  great 
interest.  Gen.  Jackson’s  election  was  bringing  into 
office  a new  set  of  aspirants,  wlio  were  as  busy  as  bees, 
in  obtaining  their  places.  Having  no  part  or  lot  in  the 
seeking,  I enjoyed  the  scene  highly. 

Among  the  various  matters  which  took  place  at  the 
time,  was  a call  made  through  a partisan  of  Mr.  Adams, 
upon  the  war  department,  for  information,  so  as  to 
afford  Col.  Barbour,  the  Secretary  of  War,  a pretence 
for  sending  to  the  House  in  answer  a literal  copy  of  a 
letter  of  Gen.  Jackson,  written  carelessly,  a long  time 
before,  in  wkicli  he  spelled  several  words  wrong.  To 
revenge  this  petty  exposure  of  Gen.  Jackson’s  deficiency 
in  learning,  a pasquinade  was  written,  which  represented 
Mr.  Adams  occnpjdug  the  country  schoolmaster’s  chair, 
with  the  members  of  his  cabinet  standing  around  him, 
after  the  fashion  of  boys  when  exercised  at  spelling  on 
evenings  before  they  are  dismissed  from  school. 

Mr.  Clay  stood  head,  with  the  other  members  of  the 
cabinet  following  according  to  rank,  in  a circle  around. 
Mr.  Adams’s  bald  head,  weeping  eyes,  and  short  dumpy 
person,  seated  on  a split-bottom  chair,  made  him  an 
admirable  representative  of  the  class  of  old  field  teach- 
ers. He  held  a book  in  his  hand,  from  which  he  selected 
the  words  for  spelling.  He  rose  and  said,  that  his  ad- 
ministration had  called  public  attention  to  Gen.  Jack- 


314 


FIKST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


son’s  want  of  knowledge  in  spelling,  and  that  it  behooved 
them  all  to  mind  their  P’s  and  Q’s,  and  that  he  had 
assembled  them  for  the  purpose  of  exercising  them  in 
spelling.  lie  then  took  his  seat,  and  commenced  giving 
out  words,  saying,  Spell  female.  Mr.  Clay,  femail ; 
Southard,  feemale ; Barbour,  phemale ; Porter,  phe- 
mail ; McKinney,  who  stood  foot,  and  being  a sort  of 
cat’s-paw  for  the  cabinet,  had  put  himself  there  without 
being  asked,  when  Mr.  Adams  nodded  to  him,  spelt  at 
the  top  of  his  voice,  pheemual.  Mr.  Clay,  who  had  by 
this  time  recovered  his  self-possession,  and  being  very 
familiar  upon  the  subject,  spelt  it  right.  The  next 
word  was  negro,  which  was  given  out  to  Southard,  who 
having  once  been  a schoolmaster,  and  taught  Latin  to 
two  or  three  boys  in  Virginia,  spelt  it  niger.  The  lord 
of  the  empty  barrels,  as  Mr.  Barbour  was  popularly 
called,  was  at  home  with  the  word,  spoke  out  with  his 
full  orarotunda  voice,  “ nigger,”  that  being  the  Virginia 
way  of  calling  negro.  Porter,  nigro.  Mr.  Adams, 
bursting  with  his  pent  up  rage,  threw  the  book  at 
McKinney’s  head,  and  dismissed  the  class— McKinney 
going  off  blubbering  out,  that  Mr.  Adams  could  not 
spell  Michilimaekinac. 

To  accommodate  the  great  numbers  who  had  come 
to  Washington  City  to  witness  the  inauguration  of  Gen. 
Jackson,  it  was  determined  that  the  official  oath  should 
be  administered  in  the  eastern  portico.  Seats  were 
prepared  there  for  the  senators,  judges  of  the  Supreme 
Court,  and  foreign  ministers,  whilst  all  others  were  to 
stand  off  and  around. 

It  soon  became  obvious,  that  those  on  the  outskirts 
of  the  crowd  would  not  be  able  to  see  what  was  done. 
Some  of  the  young  ladies  present,  who  showed  a very 
strong  desire  to  observe  and  be  observed,  were  placed 


FIBST  SETTLERS  OP  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


315 


on  the  sculptured  projections  of  the  pillars  a few  feet 
from  their  base,  and  held  up  by  their  attendants.  Gen. 
Floyd’s  daughter,  a young  lady  of  about  fourteen,  thus 
stood,  with  one  arm  around  a pillar,  and  a hand  on  my 
shoulder.  Near  the  front  of  the  portico,  Gen.  Jackson 
was  seen,  without  his  hat,  his  stiff  gray  hair  giving 
length  to  his  striking  features.  Near  by  was  Chief 
Justice  Marshall,  with  his  long,  spare  legs,  small  head, 
and  eagle  eyes.  The  long  flight  of  steps  which  led  up 
into  the  portico  were  barricaded,  so  as  to  keep  off  the 
crowd.  George  Kreamer,  the  Representative  of  the 
German  mass,  ignorant  and  honest,  was  at  the  foot  of 
the  steps  with  his  hand  on  it.  Gen.  Jackson  drew 
forth  a leaf  of  manuscript,  read  from  it  with  trembling 
hand  and  inaudible  voice,  a few  sentences.  He  then 
took  the  oath  of  office,  which  was  administered  by  the 
Chief  Justice.  The  two  then  shook  hands.  This  was 
just  done,  when  George  Kreamer,  who  had  leaped  the 
barricade,  had  hold  of  the  President’s  hand,  shaking  it 
heartily.  The  shout,  which  was  raised  by  the  thirty 
thousand  spectators  below,  showed  that  they  viewed 
this  shake  as  no  hollow-hearted  ceremony.  The  Presi- 
dent’s house  was  open  for  the  reception  of  all  who  de- 
sired to  pay  their  respects  to  the  new  Chief  Magistrate. 
From  one  o’clock,  the  populace  and  dignitaries  were 
constantly  pressing  into  the  building.  When  Gen. 
Floyd,  with  Mrs.  Gilmer,  and  Mrs.  Floyd,  and  myself 
attempted  to  penetrate  the  crowd,  we  should  have 
failed,  but  for  the  bold  and  strong  push  of  Gen.  Floyd’s 
two  stout  sons,  who  went  before  and  made  way  for  us. 
We  took  the  hand  of  the  President,  already  sinking 
into  listlessness  from  exhaustion,  and  after  following  for 
a while  the  current,  and  seeing,  among  other  things,  the 
hundred  and  fifty  dollar  official  chairs  profaned  by  the 


316 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


feet  of  clodhoppers,  attempted  to  get  out ; but  the 
current  still  set  in  so  full  that  it  was  impossible.  We 
passed  through  a window  or  two  to  make  our  exit ; in 
doing  which  I had  to  sustain  the  weight  of  Mrs.  Floyd, 
equalling  three  hundred  pounds,  with  a leg  weak  from 
a fracture  scarcely  healed.  Many  persons  discovered 
that  a Presidential  inauguration,  though  of  universal 
attraction,  does  not  give  unmixed  pleasure. 

At  the  college  commencement  in  Athens  in  1829 — 
the  great  assembling  place  of  the  active  politicians  of  the 
State — I was  pressed  to  be  a candidate  for  chief  magis- 
trate of  the  State,  and  consented.  Major  Joel  Craw- 
ford was  my  opponent.  The  Clark  party  had  no 
candidate.  The  majority  of  its  members  voted  for  me. 
I was  consequently  elected  by  a very  large  majority. 

In  the  morning  before  I was  inducted  into  office, 
the  leading  editor  of  the  Clark  party  insisted  that  I 
should  divide  the  patronage  of  the  Executive  Depart- 
ment equally  between  the  two  parties.  The  day  after, 
an  active  Clark  man,  who  was  particularly  hostile  to 
the  Crawfords,  urged  me  to  subscribe  money  for  the 
benefit  of  the  widow  of  a Clark  partisan,  who  had  been 
killed  in  a duel  by  one  of  the  Crawfords.  I declined 
these  and  all  similar  proposals,  and  thereby  excited  the 
ill  will  of  the  leading  Clark  men,  as  I had  of  many  of 
the  Crawford  party,  by  my  success  over  one  of  the 
family.  I soon  found  that  to  be  chief  magistrate  of  the 
State,  when  party  politics  are  violent,  without  party 
support,  is  to  run  a race  barefooted  over  a thorny  way. 
I attempted  to  perform  what  I declared  in  my  inaugu- 
ral address  to  be  my  purpose — give  employment  to 
integrity,  talent,  and  industry.  The  factions  which 
had  long  distracted  the  State  were  then  objectless.  1 
thought  it  wras  time  for  them  to  end  ; but,  having  never 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


317 


acted  witli  tlie  Clark  party,  I probably  judged  those 
who  wanted' office  through  a deceptive  medium.  They 
showed  that  they  were  of  that  opinion,  or  became 
dissatisfied  for  some  other  cause,  as  they  very  soon 
united  in  the  most  active  opposition  to  me. 

A day  or  two  before  the  termination  of  the  first 
session  of  the  Legislature,  after  I went  into  the  Execu- 
tive office,  I received  information  that  a large  number 
of  pamphlets,  whose  matter  was  calculated  to  excite 
the  negroes  to  insurrection,  had  been  sent  from  Boston 
to  Georgia.  A bundle  of  them  was  soon  after  found  in 
possession  of  Burret,  a Yankee  editor.  They  purported 
to  have  been  written  by  a negro  in  Boston.  Burret 
had  been  to  that  city  just  before,  and  was  suspected  of 
having  written  them  himself — a suspicion  which  was 
confirmed  by  his  subsequent  conduct.  — 

I come  now  to  the  time  in  my  public  life  in  which 
I had  to  struggle  with  great  difficulties,  and  to  be  the 
object  of  the  vilest  abuse.  The  extension  of  the  juris- 
diction of  the  State  over  the  territory  occupied  by  the 
Indians ; the  punishment  of  religious  missionaries,  and 
other  white  men  who  lived  within  that  territory,  who 
refused  to  obey  the  laws ; the  survey  of  the  land,  and 
the  removal  of  the  Indians  to  the  west  of  the  Missis- 
sippi, were  subjects  which  attracted  the  attention  of 
every  body  at  the  time.  The  political  censors  knew 
enough  of  their  office,  in  working  for  party  success,  not 
to  make  their  attacks  upon  the  State.  Invectives  were 
directed  specially  at  the  Governor,  who  was  the  public 
agent  for  doing  what  was  done.  I was  pictured  as 
fiendish  as  possible,  that  the  good  and  humane  might 
be  deterred  from  any  connection  with  such  a horrid 
fellow. 

The  question  was  tauntingly  put  to  Georgians,  Why 


318 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


not  let  the  Cherokees  remain  among  you  ? — Why  not 
foster  and  improve  them,  and  let  them  add  to  your 
numbers  and  wealth  ? Our  villifiers  seemed,  in  their 
clamor  against  us,  to  have  forgotten  that  there  was  no 
interchange  of  the  productions  of  labor  between  the 
Indians  and  others ; that  they  were  without  wealth, 
and  were  incapable  of  acquiring  any ; and  that  they 
had  remained  ignorant  savages,  notwithstanding  the 
constant  efforts  to  change  them  into  better  beings. 
They  expressed  great  surprise  that  the  Georgians  felt 
no  sympathy  for  the  poor  aborigines. 

To  appreciate  fully  the  motives,  and  understand 
the  causes  which  induced  the  public  men  of  Georgia  to 
adopt  its  Indian  policy,  it  is  necessary  to  know  what 
sort  of  people  Indians  were,  and  the  relations  which 
existed  between  them,  the  State,  and  the  United  States. 
The  race  seems  destined  soon  to  pass  away,  and  leave 
no  trace  behind,  except  in  the  discolored  skin  and 
revengeful  temper  of  their  descendants  from  crossings 
with  other  races.  The  curious  are  puzzling  themselves 
with  conjectures  about  the  intent  of  the  Almighty  in 
making  such  beings, — whether  they  are  the  descendants 
of  Adam  and  Eve, — and  if  they  are,  when  and  from 
whence  they  came  to  America. 

For  a long  time  the  appearance,  manners,  and 
habits  of  the  Indians,  strangely  affected  the  imagination 
of  all  those  who  talked  or  wrote  about  them.  Travel- 
lers, missionaries,  and  government  agents,  magnified 
their  own  consequence  in  giving  importance  to  those 
of  whom  they  wrote,  by  describing  them  to  be  what 
they  were  not.  * According  to  their  accounts,  some  of 
the  chiefs  were  as  crafty  as  Ulysses,  others  as  brave  as 
Achilles,  and  here  and  there  one  as  eloquent  as  Demos- 
thenes. Facts  were  so  slightly  investigated,  or  so  per- 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


819 


verted  by  pictures  of  the  imagination,  that  the  truth 
was  seldom  perceived,  and  constantly  exaggerated. 

Though  the  Indians  made  upon  sight  impressions 
the  most  difficult  to  forget,  they  have  been  found  upon 
examination  to  be  the  least  worthy  of  remembrance  of 
any  human  beings.  The  men  were  erect  of  stature, 
with  slender  arms  and  stout  le^s.  Their  shoulders 
were  never  rounded,  nor  their  backs  bent,  by  habitual 
stooping  to  labor.  They  usually  stretched  themselves 
out  at  length  upon  logs,  or  upon  the  ground,  when  not 
stalking  after  game,  or  pursuing  or  flying  from  enemies. 
They  could  run  further,  and  endure  hunger  longer, 
than  any  people.  Indian  women  were  the  least  in- 
viting of  their  sex.  They  lost  by  drudging  what  the 
men  gained  in  comeliness  by  freedom  from  it.  They 
hoed  the  corn  at  home,  and  carried  the  packs  when 
travelling  abroad.  Their  hair  was  coarse  like  the  hair 
of  a horse’s  tail.  They  greased  it  with  rancid  bear’s 
oil — too  offensive  for  any  other  beings  to  bear — to  keep 
down  the  increase  of  vermin.  They  effected  the  same 
object  for  their  children’s  heads  by  aid  of  their  teeth. 
Men  and  women  went  with  unwashed  hands,  faces,  and 
bodies,  except  when  they  cooled  themselves  in  the 
streams  in  warm  weather.  Salt  was  so  difficult  to  be 
had,  and  so  little  used,  that  most  of  their  food  was 
eaten  in  the  state  preferred  by  the  buzzards.  Their 
wigwams  were  of  unbarked  poles,  with  unswept  earth- 
en floors.  Their  beds  were  of  badly  dried  skins,  whose 
perfumes  added  to  the  other  vile  smells  about  their 
cabins.  Most  of  them  could  count  ten ; few  could 
number  a hundred.  They  had  no  genius  for  invention, 
and  have  added  nothino;  to  the  stores  of  human  know- 
ledge  or  instruments.  Stone  axes  and  hickory  clubs 
were  their  tools  for  work  and  weapons  of  war.  Their 


320 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


wealth  was  without  money,  ancl  its  greatest  accumula- 
tion extended  only  to  wigwams,  skins,  and  canoes. 
Their  gods  they  worshipped  when  they  desired  to  do 
evil,  and  found  them  in  the  worst  of  their  kind,  low 
animals,  sticks,  and  stones.  They  were  the  least  obedi- 
ent of  all  men  to  the  divine  commands — do  unto  others 
as  you  would  they  should  do  unto  you ; love  your 
neighbor  as  yourself;  forgive  your  enemies  Many  of 
them  professed  Christianity,  under  the  teachings  of  the 
Jesuits  and  others  ; but  their  profession  was  followed 
by  but  slight  evidence  of  conversion.  Social  affections 
were  scarcely  felt.  Children  were  uncared  for  when 
they  became  old  enough  to  take  care  of  themselves. 
They  relieved  their  habitual  apathy  by  occasionally 
warring  upon  men  and  beasts.  Their  master  passion 
was  revenge,  which  they  indulged  in  as  their  greatest 
luxury.  They  sought  no  social  meetings,  nor  enjoyed 
any  greetings.  They  lolled  about  their  cabins  smoking 
and  looking  at  the  clouds.  They  talked  but  little,  aud 
that  little  of  what  happened  yesterday  or  to-day.  They 
were  never  seen  walking  side  by  side  one  with  another. 
Their  paths  were  all  single.  They  indulged  in  no 
wants  but  such  as  each  could  supply  himself  with.  If 
any  one  became  dependent,  he  died.  They  seldom 
asked  questions — not  because  they  believed  in  the 
adage,  Ask  me  no  questions,  and  I will  tell  you  no  lies 
— for  they  loved  to  act  by  trick,  deceit,  and  stratagem ; 
but  from  the  absence  of  the  desire  for  information. 
They  were  called  eloquent,  because  they  followed  the 
vagaries  of  their  imagination  in  speaking,  without  in- 
vestigating facts,  or  elucidating  principles ; — heroic,  be- 
cause their  insensibility  enabled  them  to  bear  torture 
without  complaining; — hospitable,  because  they  laid 
up  no  provisions  for  the  future,  and  consumed  what 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


321 


they  had  without  care ; — and  dignified,  because  they 
were  calm  and  indifferent  when  others  would  have  been 
excited.  They  described  heaven  with  vehement  ges- 
tures and  excited  voice,  not  because  they  conceived  it 
to  be  a place  free  from  sin  and  sorrow,  but  where  plen- 
ty of  game  would  be  had.  They  stuck  light-wood 
splinters  into  the  bodies  of  their  prisoners,  and  set  them 
on  fire,  and  danced  and  shouted  around  them  as  they 
burnt,  not  to  overcome  the  suffering  of  the  dying,  but 
to  feast  upon  a spectacle  which  relieved  them  from 
their  accustomed  apathy.  They  delighted  in  no  melo- 
dy, and  remained  unmoved  b}r  any  concord  of  sweet 
sounds.  Neither  the  thrilling  notes  of  the  violin,  nor 
the  exalted  strains  of  the  organ,  made  any  impression 
upon  them.  They  danced  with  slow  uniform  steps  to 
their  own  humming,  the  striking  of  sticks,  or  the  rat- 
tling of  pebbles  in  terrapin  shells.  They  worshipped  at 
the  shrine  of  Cupid  with  less  fervor  than  any  other  ani- 
mal. The  squaw  which  the  Indian  took  to  his  side  one 
day,  he  often  kicked  the  next.  He  looked  at  her  toil- 
ing for  him,  without  sympathy  and  without  assistance. 
The  Indian  women  learned  from  their  first  intercourse 
with  white  men,  the  superior  results  which  followed 
from  choosing  them  for  husbands.  The  half-breed 
children,  consequent  upon  such  connections,  have 
changed  the  character  of  all  the  tribes  amono'  whom 
white  men  have  gone.  Whilst  the  unmixed  Indians 
have  remained  what  they  ever  were,  and  will  ever  be, 
until  they  finally  pass  away — the  most  thoughtless,  do- 
less,  least  loving  and  least  lovely,  of  human  beings — 
the  half-breeds  are  making  a show  of  civilization  among 
all  the  tribes  where  they  are.  Their  insensibility  may 
be  imagined  from  the  following  incidents : — 

That  part  of  the  County  of  Wilks  which  is  now  Ogle- 
21 


322 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


thorpe,  bordered  on  tire  Cherokee  country.  Not  many 
miles  from  where  I now  reside,  a man  by  the  name  of 
Bridges  lived  in  1791.  He  had  sons,  and  daughters? 
and  grandchildren  living  with  him  in  the  same  house. 
Old  Bridges  was  going  into  the  forest  one  day  to  hunt. 
A grandchild  seeing  her  grandsire,  with  whom  she  was 
a pet,  leaving  the  house,  commenced  crying  to  be  taken 
into  his  arms,  and  to  go  with  him.  This  could  not  be 
done,  as  the  Indians  had  been  doing  mischief,  and  were 
known  to  be  upon  the  frontiers.  He  carried  her  to  a 
mulberry-tree,  then  in  full  bearing  with  ripe  fruit,  in  a 
field  close  by,  and,  after  filling  her  hands  and  mouth 
with  the  berries,  went  back  towards  the  house.  Before 
he  reached  it,  a party  of  Indians  rose  from  their  con- 
cealment in  the  wheat,  then  growing  in  the  field,  shot 
down  old  Bridges,  and  running  up  to  him,  seized  the 
child,  and,  carrying  it  out  of  gunshot  from  the  house 
(where  the  father  of  the  child  was  looking  out,  having 
been  startled  into  attention  by  the  firing  of  the  gun), 
stripped  it  naked,  and,  whilst  one  of  them  held  it  up  by 
its  little  feet  to  the  gaze  of  the  father,  another  opened 
it,  and  took  from  within  its  body  the  lobes  of  the  heart, 
which  they  threw  at  him. 

An  aged,  respectable  woman  stated  on  oath,  in 
Elbert  Superior  Court,  that  a party  of  Indians  came 
to  her  house  about  the  close  of  the  revolutionary 
war,  and  after  taking  whatever  of  her  goods  they 
fancied,  seized  her  infant  baby,  carried  it  into  the  yard, 
and  beat  its  brains  out  against  a stump. 

Who  can  sympathize  with  creatures  who  habitually 
act  thus  ? The  answer  may  be  given  in  the  language 
of  the  Indian  chief,  Logan,  “ Not  one.” 

At  the  close  of  the  revolutionary  war,  Georgia  was 
the  weakest  of  the  old  thirteen  States ; for  though  its 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


323 


people  were  not  the  fewest  in  number,  its  territory  was 
the  most  extensive,  and  occupied  by  the  most  nume- 
rous and  warlike  Indian  tribes.  The  other  States  had 
gotten  entirely  rid  of  Indians,  or  their  numbers  had 
become  so  reduced,  or  their  temper  so  subdued,  that 
but  little  inconvenience  was  felt  from  their  presence. 

Many  of  the  tories  who  had  aided  the  efforts  of 
their  royal  master  to  subjugate  the  Colonies,  by  excit- 
ing the  Creeks  and  Ckerokees  to  massacre  the  people, 
when  the  war  was  over,  very  fitly  preferred  remain- 
ing among  their  king’s  allies,  to  becoming  outcast  citi- 
zens of  the  State.  Independence,  which  secured  peace 
to  the  other  States,  gave  no  peace  to  Georgia.  Murder- 
ings,  and  plunderings,  continued  to  be  committed  by 
the  Creeks  and  Ckerokees  through  the  instigation  of 
the  tories.  Attempts  were  frequently  made  to  con- 
ciliate them.  Treaty  after  treaty  was  entered  into, 
without  securing  safety.  The  frontiers  were  too  ex- 
tensive to  be  defended  by  its  scattered  inhabitants. 
The  Indians  had  easy  access  into  the  country,  every 
where.  The  people  endeavored  to  protect  themselves 
by  fortifications  of  their  own  making.  Block-houses 
were  erected,  and  manned,  by  voluntary  service.  The 
inhabitants,  just  arrived  from  distant  parts  of  the 
United  States,  with  scanty  means  of  support,  suffered 
greatly.  They  lost  their  slaves,  houses,  and  cattle, 
when  such  property  was  all  important  to  them,  and 
could  not  be  replaced.  The  country  had  to  be  cleared 
of  its  forests,  to  fit  it  for  cultivation.  Labor  was  not 
to  be  hired.  There  were  no  surplus  negroes,  horses, 
nor  cattle,  in  the  country,  nor  surplus  money  to  buy 
them,  if  there  had  been.  The  exuberance  of  the 
natural  vegetation  of  the  soil,  the  great  inducement  to 
the  settlement  of  the  country,  occasioned  the  great- 


324 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


est  losses  to  the  people  by  exposing  their  houses  and 
stock  to  the  depredations  of  the  Indians*  The  State 
applied  to  the  General  Government  for  protection.  It 
was  answered,  by  permission  to  raise  troops.  A corps 
was  accordingly  formed,  of  its  citizens,  and  the  service 
rendered.  The  United  States  deferred,  or  neglected, 
to  pay  its  members,  for  thirty  years,  though  continually 
urged  to  do  so  by  their  Representatives  in  Congress. 
In  1790,  a delegation  of  Creek  Indians  went  to  the 
seat  of  government,  then  in  New  York.  They  were 
under  the  lead  of  Alexander  McGilvray. 

Lackland  McGilvray  whilst  yet  a lad,  showed  the 
instincts  of  the  Scotchman,  by  leaving  his  country  and 
family,  in  search  of  adventures  and  wealth.  Upon 
arriving  at  Charleston,  he  met  with  a party  of  singular 
looking  men,  dressed  in  wrappers,  belts,  leggins  and 
moccasins ; having  high  cheekbones,  sedate  counte- 
nances, and  following  strange  ways.  They  reminded 
him  of  home.  They  were  Creek  Indians,  who  had 


* The  following  returns  of  depredations  committed  by  the  Creek 
Indians  show  what  their  character  and  extent  must  have  been. 


Whites  killed  . . . . .72 

Do.  wounded  .....  29 

Do.  taken  prisoners  . . . .SO 

Blacks  killed  .....  10 

Do.  taken  prisoners  . . . .110 

Horses  taken  off  (their  value,  £3,395  10s.)  . 184 

Horses  taken  off  not  valued  . . . . 459 

Horned  cattle  taken  off  . . . 984 

Hogs  destroyed  . . . . .387 

Houses  burnt  .....  89 


Sundry  household  furniture,  farming  utensils,  wearing 
apparel  destroyed. 

“ Office  of  Sec.  of  Council,  5th  Oct.  1789. 

41 1 do  hereby  certify,  that  the  above  estimate  of  losses  sustained  by 
the  Indians,  since  the  commencement  of  hostilities,  is  taken  from  returns 
made  on  oath,  and  filed  in  this  office. 


F.  Meriwether,  Sec.  E.  C: 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


325 


brought  deer  and  fur  shins  to  market,  to  exchange  for 
blankets  and  whiskey.  He  accompanied  theniffo.,  their, 
wigwams  on  the  Coosa.  He  soon  saw  that  the  Creeks 
were  indifferent  about  accumulation.  His  Scotch  pro- 
pensity found  an  ample  field  to  operate  in.  He  en- 
gaged in  trade,  as  most  Scotchmen  in  his  day  did,  when 
they  left  their  country  for  other  lands.  To  add  to  the 
facility  of  doing  business  with  the  Indians,  he  took  to 
his  side  an  Indian  girl,  the  child  of  a Frenchman  and 
Creek  squaw.  The  result  of  this  union  was  Alexander 
McGilvray,  whose  loyalty  to  the  British  crown,  and 
instinct  for  making  money, — whose  faithlessness  and 
malignity,  gave  obvious  indications  of  his  Scotch, 
French,  and  Indian  descent. 

When  the  spirit  of  liberty  inspired  the  people  of 
the  Colonies  to  throw  off  the  yoke  of  the  mother 
country,  Lackland  McGilvray  returned  to  Scotland. 
Alexander  showed  his  inherited  bent,  by  sticking  to 
the  crown,  and  staying  in  the  woods.  He  aided  the 
cause  of  royalty,  by  inducing  the  Creeks  to  take  part 
with  his  master,  King  George,  against  the  Georgians. 
The  Legislature  put  Lackland  and  Alexander  McGil- 
vray upon  the  list  of  tories  whose  property  it  confis- 
cated for  the  use  of  the  State.  Alexander  repayed 
himself  for  his  losses  by  the  injuries  which  he  inflicted 
on  the  Georgians,  through  the  Creek  Indians.  The 
British  government,  deeply  aggrieved  by  its  forced 
relinquishment  of  control  over  its  colonies,  endeavored 
to  bring  the  States  under  its  power,  by  destroying  their 
capacity  for  warring  against  it.  The  Indians  were  ex- 
cited to  harass  the  frontier  people,  by  plunderings  and 
murders.  Alexander  McGilvray  was  the  chosen  in- 
strument for  doing  this  vile  work  in  the  South.  He 
was  made  a colonel,  and  given  the  pay  which  belonged 


326 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


to  his  rank.  He  availed  himself  of  his  advantageous 
position  among  the  Indians,  and  his  British  pay,  to 
form  a copartnership  in  trade  with  the  mercantile 
house  of  Panton,  Lesly  & Co. 

The  Spanish  Government  claimed  a considerable 
portion  of  the  territory  of  Georgia.  With  the  hope 
of  making  its  claim  good  at  some  future  time,  McGil- 
vray  ivas  taken  into  its  pay,  and  appointed  a general. 
He  and  his  partners  were  permitted  to  carry  on  trade 
through  Florida  and  other  Spanish  dependences,  with 
advantages  allowed  to  no  others.  The  importance 
which  McGilvray  acquired  among  the  Creeks  through 
his  connection  with  the  British  and  Spanish  Govern- 
ments, aided  by  his  talents,  enabled  him  to  obtain, 
though  a half-breed,  the  speakership  of  the  Creeks, 
and  rule  them  to  his  purposes.  He  also  acquired  great 
influence  among  the  Cherokees,  stirred  them  up  to 
hostilities  against  the  whites,  and  endeavored  to  unite 
them  with  the  Creeks  and  other  southern  tribes  against 
Georgia.  The  Government  of  the  United  States  was 
fully  informed  of  McGilvray’s  intriguing  character. 
His  exciting  the  Creeks  to  make  inroads  into  the  States, 
and  his  being  in  the  pay  of  the  British  and  Spanish 
Governments.  Following  in  the  footsteps  of  Great 
Britain  and  Spain,  the  government  attempted  to  attach 
him  to  its  interest,  by  flattering  courtesies,  and  creating 
him  a brigadier-general  with  a salary  of  twelve  hun- 
dred dollars.  He  induced  the  United  States,  in  making 
the  treaty  of  Hew  York,  to  take  from  Georgia  a large 
extent  of  land  which  the  Creeks  had  previously  ceded 
to  it,  and  to  agree  that  the  Indians  might  put  to  death 
any  Georgian  who  should  be  found  upon  the  land,  with- 
out being  accountable  to  the  United  States.  He  offer- 
ed his  services  to  the  General  Government,  if  it  would 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


327 


make  another  State  out  of  the  western  territory  of 
Georgia.  He  said  to  Dr.  White,  United  States  Super- 
intendent of  the  southern  Indians,  “ If  that  honorable 
body  (meaning  the  Congress  of  the  Confederation)  can 
form  a government  to  the  southward  of  the  Altamaha, 
I will  be  the  first  to  take  the  oath  of  allegiance  there- 
to.” The  agent  of  the  Confederation  in  reply  says,  in 
the  spirit  which  has  ever  since  governed  the  conduct 
of  many  in  the  same  matter : “ The  territory  of 

Georgia  is  amply  extensive,  and  this  Confederation  is  a 
security  for  the  Indians,  that  there  will  be  no  further 
ground  of  complaint  in  future,  as  it  cannot  be  an  ob- 
ject to  disperse  its  subjects  still  more  widely,  while 
there  is  so  much  internal  room  for  cultivation.  I can 
take  upon  me  to  assure  you,  that  measures  are  adopted 
with  strict  security,  for  curbing  the  licentiousness  of  any 
who  may  be  disposed  to  give  offence  to  this  people.” 

When  Gen.  Clark  and  his  associates  took  posses- 
sion of  the  country  between  the  Oconee  and  Oc- 
mulgee  in  1794,  and  attempted  to  organize  a republic, 
the  Indians  looked  on  quietly,  supposing  that  the  new 
State  was  what  Dr.  White  and  McGilvray  had  agreed 
should  be  established  for  the  purpose  of  limiting  the 
power  of  the  Georgians ; and  were  surprised  when  Gen. 
Washington  gave  no  support  to  Gen.  Clark,  as  they 
supposed  from  the  treaty  of  Hew  York  that  the  new 
government  would  assent  to  any  thing  which  the 
Creeks  agreed  might  be  done  in  their  territory  to  the 
injury  of  Georgia, 

The  treaty  of  Hew  York  did  not  stop  the  thieving 
and  plunderings  of  the  Creeks.  When  they  ceased, 
after  four  or  five  years,  the  State  advised  its  citizens 
to  prove  by  such  testimony  as  they  could,  the  particu- 
lars and  amount  of  their  losses.  The  'peculiar  circum- 


328 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


stances  under  wliicli  these  injuries  had  been  sustained 
rendered  certainty  impossible.  The  property  was 
taken  or  destroyed  when  apprehension  of  massacre 
made  the  owners  fly  from  their  homes.  They  could 
not  retake  it,  or  follow  the  plunderers,  so  as  to  know 
certainly  who  they  were,  and  what  they  had  taken, 
but  at  the  risk  of  their  lives.  How  poorly  they  were 
compensated  will  be  seen  in  the  sequel. 

The  confederation  and  the  United  States  succeeded 
in  procuring  from  most  of  the  States  the  relinquish- 
ment of  their  unsettled  lands.  Repeated  efforts  were 
made  to  induce  Georgia  to  cede,  in  the  same  way,  its 
western  territory.  Politicians  who  want  to  effect  an 
object,  are  not  very  ready  to  obstruct  the  doings  of 
what  will  lead  to  it.  The  protection  which  the  people 
of  Georgia  was  entitled  to  from  the  General  Govern- 
ment was  given  so  slowly  and  inefficiently,  that  the 
massacres  of  the  Indians  were  done  and  they  gone  be- 
fore the  United  States  troops  were  in  force  to  defend 
them.  The  State,  being  unable  to  defend  its  citizens, 
or  procure  from  the  Indians  cession  of  their  occupant 
right  to  the  soil,  found  its  extensive  territory,  wealth 
without  profit.  It  therefore,  in  1802,  conveyed  its 
title  to  what,  now  makes  the  States  of  Alabama  and 
Mississippi  to  the  United  States,  in  consideration  that 
the  United  States  would  extinguish  the  Indian  title  to 
the  remainder  of  the  land  which  they  then  occupied  in 
the  State.  The  General  Government  thus  became 
bound,  by  positive  contract,  to  remove  the  Indians 
from  Georgia  whenever  it  could  be  done  peaceably 
and  upon  reasonable  terms.  — .. 

In  1808,  the  Cherokee  Indians  proposed  to  the 
United  States  to  permit  them  to  examine,  and  if  pleas- 
ed, to  settle  upon  the  public  land  on  the  west  of  the 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


329 


Mississippi.  The  permission  asked  for  was  given. 
They  found  a country  which  suited  them  very  well, 
and  many  immediately  emigrated  to  it.  Although  the 
means  were  thus  afforded  to  the  United  States  Gov- 
ernment to  execute  its  contract  with  Georgia,  it  neg- 
lected to  avail  itself  of  them.  When  the  Creeks  were 
conquered,  and  sued  for  peace  in  1814,  the  United 
States  had  the  rightful  power  to  demand  of  them  a 
cession  of  the  land  which  they  occupied  in  Georgia,  in 
repayment  of  the  expenses  of  the  war.  What  it  did, 
was  to  take  land  in  Alabama,  which  it  sold  for  its 
own  benefit.  When,  by  the  urgency  of  the  represen- 
tatives of  Georgia,  money  was  afterwards  appropri- 
ated for  holding  a treaty  with  the  Cherokees  for  a 
cession  of  land,  the  government  appointed  two  Tennes- 
seans and  one  Georgian,  commissioners.  The  conse- 
quence followed,  that  the  most  valuable  land  which 
the  Indians  relinquished  was  in  Tennessee  instead  of 
Georgia. 

The  State  might  not  have  complained  if  the  treaty 
had  been  fully  complied  with.  The  wealthy  half-breed 
Indians  who  owned  slaves,  cultivated  large  farms,  kept 
ferries,  and  taverns,  and  had  other  means  of  acquiring 
wealth  in  Georgia,  wmre  unwilling  to  lose  their  ad- 
vantageous  position.  They  sent  a delegation  of  their 
own  class  to  Washington  City  in  1819,  and  induced 
the  Secretary  of  War  to  change  the  terms  of  the 
treaty  so  as  to  let  them  remain  in  Georgia.  The  Unit- 
ed States  took  from  Georgia  the  benefit  of  the  previous 
treaty  under  the  plea  of  the  great  importance  of  civ- 
ilizing the  Indians.  The  Secretary  of  War  was  lauded 
to  the  skies  by  the  Indian  sympathizers,  because  he 
granted  to  the  chiefs  large  tracts  of  the  most  fertile 
land  in  Georgia  in  fee,  though  the  fee  was  known  to 


330 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


be  in  Georgia,  and  tlie  consent  of  the  State  was  not 
asked  for  nor  given. 

In  1821,  a treaty  was  made  between  the  United 
States  and  the  Creek  Indians,  by  which  it  was  agreed 
that  $250,000  of  the  money  which  the  Indians  were  to 
receive  for  the  land  sold,  might  be  applied  by  the  Unit- 
ed States  to  compensate  the  citizens  of  Georgia  for 
the  negroes,  horses,  and  cattle  which  had  been  pre- 
viously taken  from  them  by  the  Indians.  These  claims 
amounted  to  $280,000,  according  to  the  testimony 
which  had  been  taken  by  the  losers,  and  recorded  in 
the  executive  office  of  the  State.  Tiie  proofs  were 
exhibited  to  the  United  States  commissioners  and  the 
Creek  chiefs  at  the  making  of  the  treaty,  by  commis- 
sioners from  Georgia  specially  appointed  for  that  pur- 
pose. Although  the  losses  sustained  by  the  frontier 
people  from  Creek  spoliations  were  suffered  under  cir- 
cumstances which  greatly  increased  the  extent  of  the 
injury ; though  the  losers  had  waited  in  vain  for 
near  thirty  years  in  expectation  that  the  United  States 
would  perform  its  duty,  by  compelling  the  Creeks  to 
return  the  property  taken,  or  make  compensation  for 
its  loss;  such  strict  rules  for  their  adjudication  were  en- 
joined by  the  United  States  upon  the  commissioners 
appointed  to  investigate  them,  that  only  about  a hun- 
dred and  ten  thousand  dollars  was  awarded  in  satisfac- 
tion of  them.  Those  whose  claims  were  allowed  to  be 
sufficiently  proved,  then  insisted  that  they  should  be 
compensated  for  the  delay  in  making  payment  by  the 
application  of  the  remainder  of  the  $250,000  to  that 
purpose.  The  question  was  referred  by  the  United 
States  to  its  own  law  officer.  The  Attorney-General 
decided  that  nations  did  not  pay  interest  to  each  other 
for  delays  in  making  compensation  for  spoliations. 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


331' 


The  representatives  of  Georgia  in  Congress  applied  to 
that  body  in  behalf  of  their  unjustly  treated  constitu- 
ents. In  the  discussion  which  followed,  ex-president 
Adams,  then  a member,  and  an  admirable  exponent  of 
the  feeling  and  opinions  of  his  class,  spouted  a most 
violent  philippic  against  any  further  allowance  to  the 
Georgia  claimants.  “ Sir,”  said  he,  “ these  Georgians  are 
the  most  extraordinary  people  in  the  world.  They 
put  their  hands  into  the  public  treasury  as  no  others 
ever  did.  Sir,  it  comes  within  my  personal  knowledge 
that  these  claimants  have  been  paid  three  times  for 
their  losses.” 

In  1825  a treaty  was  authorized  to  be  held  with  the 
Creek  Indians.  The  government  of  Georgia  being 
forewarned,  became  forearmed.  They  procured  the 
appointment  of  Georgia  citizens  for  commissioners.  A 
cession  of  land  was  made  in  the  form  and  mannerwhich 
had  been  customary.  The  treaty  was  laid  before  the 
Senate  by  Mr.  Adams,  then  President.  Upon  the  pre- 
tence of  the  use  of  unwarantable  means  by  the  com- 
missioners in  making  the  treaty,  his  first  message  was 
immediately  followed  by  a message  to  prevent  its  rati- 
fication. The  whole  country  was  put  into  an  uproar 
because  what  had  always  been  done  in  Indian  treaties 
had  been  again  done.  The  President  sent  an  agent,  a 
subordinate  clerk  in  one  of  the  departments  under  his 
control,  to  procure  evidence  that  money  and  other 
presents  had  been  given  to  the  Indians.  The  agent 
took  the  testimony  of  those  who  had  failed  to  make  as 
much  profit  by  the  treaty  as  they  desired,  or  who  fear- 
ed some  loss  from  it.  Whilst  the  country  was  agitated 
by  the  pros  and  cons,  Governor  Troup  took  possession 
of  the  land,  and  notified  Mr.  Adams  that  the  people  of 
Georgia  would  stand  by  their  arms  in  defence  of  their 


332 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


rights.  Mr.  Adams  was  a candidate  for  re-election  at 
the  time.  He  and  his  friends  made  a great  effort  for 
success,  by  exciting  sympathy  for  the  poor  Indians. 
They  would  most  probably  have  gained  their  end,  but 
that  Gen.  Jackson’s  victory  at  New  Orleans  secured 
for  him  more  votes  than  the  cry  of  poor  Indians  did 
for  Mr.  Adams. 

A few  weeks  after  I went  into  the  Executive  office, 
I received  the  report  of  the  commissioners  who  had 
been  appointed  to  investigate  the  facts  in  relation  to 
the  claim  of  the  State  to  possess  at  once  a territory  of 
considerable  extent,  which  had  been  previously  occu- 
pied by  the  Creeks,  abandoned  by  them,  and  taken 
possession  of  by  the  Cherokees. 

The  following  is  an  extract  from  my  message  to  the 
Legislature,  upon  the  subject  of  this  claim. 

Permit  me  to  recommend  to  the  Legislature  the  most  liberal 
and  forbearing  course,  in  relation  to  our  right  to  the  territory  in 
dispute.  Delay,  and  thorough  investigation,  will  not  weaken  our 
title,  if  valid.  Representing  as  we  do  a great  community,  and 
having  for  dependants,  a weak  tribe  of  Indians,  subject  to  our 
legislation,  it  becomes  us,  not  only  to  act  justly,  but  to  avoid 
the  appearance  of  violating  right.  The  immediate  possession  of 
the  disputed  territory,  is  comparatively  of  small  importance ; 
the  removal  of  all  the  Cherokees  beyond  our  limits  is  an  object  of 
the  very  greatest.  Until  it  is  effected,  our  population  must  re- 
main unsettled,  our  policy  wavering,  and  improvements  of  all 
kinds,  whether  they  contribute  to  the  enjoyments  of  society,  or 
the  advancement  of  the  wealth  of  the  State,  unexecuted  to  their  ful- 
lest extent.  We  are  assured  that  the  exertions  of  the  present 
Administration  of  the  General  Government,  will  be  used  to  en- 
able the  State  to  arrive  at  this  very  desirable  end.  The  obliga- 
tions of  the  United  States,  to  extinguish  the  Indian  title  to  all 
the  lands  within  the  limits  of  the  State,  we  may  now  hope  will 
be  complied  with  in  good  faith.  No  one  understands  better  the 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


333 


Indian  character,  and  the  nature  of  the  peculiar  relations  which 
exist  between  them  and  our  government,  than  the  President  of 
the  United  States.  It  is  believed  that  the  efforts  of  the  Govern- 
ment to  remove  the  Cherokees,  will  be  strengthened  by  the  truth 
which  is  becoming  more  evident,  that  the  cause  of  humanity  re- 
quires it.  Long  experience  has  satisfied  all,  except  sectional  and 
party  zealots,  that  the  Indian  tribes,  when  surrounded  by  white 
men,  continue  to  disappear,  until  they  become  extinct.  The  gov- 
ernment proposes  to  remove  all  who  are  within  the  limits  of  the 
State,  to  an  extensive  territory,  which  belongs  to  it,  beyond  the 
Mississippi,  where  they  can  be  protected  and  aided  in  their  ad- 
vancement in  civilization,  so  far  as  that  object  can  be  effected. 
The  humane  and  intelligent  are  every  where  concurring  in  the 
proposed  measure.  In  pursuing  the  course  recommended,  we 
shall  avoid  the  unpleasant  necessity  for  acting  as  sole  judge  in 
our  own  cause,  and  collision  with  the  present  Administration  of 
the  General  Government,  which  is  so  much  more  favorable  to  the 
rights  of  the  State  than  that  which  immediately  preceded  it. 


The  following  estract  from  a letter  to  the  President 
of  the  United  States,  will  further  explain  this  claim  to 
the  immediate  possession  of  a part  of  the  teritory  which 
was  in  possession  of  the  Indians. 

Executive  Department,  Milledgeville,  Dec.  29 th,  1829. 

’ I Independent  of  any  knowledge  derived  from  individuals,  it  is 
probable  that  we  could  have  accounted  for  the  change  of  posses- 
sion of  the  disputed  territory  from  the  Creeks  to  the  Cherokees, 
from  the  alteration  of  the  habits  of  life  which  has  been  for  a long 
time  taking  place  in  both  tribes.  Within  the  last  thirty  or  forty 
years,  the  Creeks  and  Cherokees  gradually  became  less  and  less 
capable  of  subsisting  by  hunting.  Very  many  of  the  half-breeds 
of  each  tribe  exchanged  hunting  for  herding.  But  even  these 
were  but  little  accustomed  to  provide,  by  cultivating  the  earth, 
food  for  the  support  of  their  cattle  during  the  winter,  but  rather 
trusted  to  the  cane  and  other  natural  productions.  Both  tribes 
therefore  inclined  to  progress  to  the  south,  where  the  lands  on 
the  streams  were  richer,  and  the  cane  more  capable  of  sustaining 


834 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


their  cattle.  That  portion  of  the  Cherokee  tribe  in  particular, 
who  inhabited  the  high,  mountainous,  cold  and  sterile  country 
about  the  head-waters  of  the  Savannah  and  Chattahoochee,  were 
disposed  to  leave  it  for  one  further  to  the  south,  and  more  suit- 
able to  the  change  that  was  taking  place  in  their  habits.  The 
truth  of  this  opinion  is  verified  by  the  talk  delivered  by  the 
Cherokees,  in  1808,  to  the  President  of  the  United  States,  in 
which  they  represent  the  scarcity  of  game  in  that  part  of  their 
country,  and  their  intention  to  leave  it.  In  addition  to  the  su- 
perior advantages  of  a more  southern  country  for  the  support  of 
their  cattle,  was  added  the  inducement  of  approaching  nearer 
their  markets,  rendered  important  by  the  increased  value  of 
their  beef  and  hides. 

It  is  probably  known  to  the  President,  from  personal  observa- 
tion, that  the  country  in  dispute  was  formerly  occupied  by  the 
Creeks  entirely,  and  that  they  gradually  relinquished  their  pos- 
session, until,  at  the  close  of  the  late  war,  there  were  very  few 
of  that  tribe  remaining  on  it ; and  that,  at  the  same  time,  and  in 
the  same  manner,  the  Cherokees  by  degrees  obtained  almost  en- 
tire possession.  The  fact  that  all  the  streams  and  remarkable 
places  have  Creek  names,  prove  certainly  that  it  was  but  lately 
occupied  by  the  Creeks,  and  that  there  has  been  no  general  and 
simultaneous  transfer  of  its  possession  from  one  tribe  to  the 
other,  and  that  the  Cherokees  must  therefore  have  intermingled 
with  the  original  inhabitants,  so  as  to  have  adopted  their  proper 
names.  The  Cherokees’  talk,  the  testimony  of  the  Indians,  and 
the  information  of  the  original  white  settlers  on  the  frontier, 
prove  that  this  occupation  of  the  country  by  the  Cherokees  was 
permissive  on  the  part  of  the  Creeks,  and  so  considered  by  the 
Cherokees  until  1820,  when  General  McIntosh  procured  the  con- 
sent of  the  Creeks  to  make  it  a matter  of  right.  The  country 
was  said  to  have  been  loaned  by  the  Creeks  to  the  Cherokees. 
The  first  claim  of  the  right  to  possess  it  at  all,  on  the  part  of  the 
latter  tribe,  was  derived  from  success  at  a ball-play,  at  which  the 
stake  was  the  disputed  country,  and  at  which  play  the  Cherokees 
were  successful.  This  ball-play  took  place  some  time  between 
the  years  1816  and  1820. 

I understand  that  the  President  is  of  the  opinion  that  the 
United  States  Government  is  bound,  by  its  contract  of  1802  with 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


385 


Georgia,  as  well  as  upon  general  principles,  to  permit  no  trans- 
fer of  territory  after  that  time  from  the  Creeks  to  the  Cherokees. 
or  rather  to  disregard  any  contracts  which  may  have  been  made 
between  the  two  tribes.  The  Creeks  having  been  the  occupants 
of  the  country  in  1802,  and  having  parted  with  possession,  it 
now  belongs  to  Georgia,  as  the  rightful  owner  of  the  soil.  The 
wisdom  and  prudence  of  the  President  will  direct  the  time  and 
manner  in  which  the  State  shall  take  possession  of  the  country. 
We  are  desirous  that  the  President  shall  so  manage  the  matter 
as  not  to  interfere  with  the  efforts  of  his  administration  to  obtain 
for  Georgia,  through  the  measures  proposed  to  be  pursued  by 
Congress  during  its  present  session,  the  whole  of  its  Indian  ter- 
ritory. The  people  of  Georgia,  and  those  who  administer  its 
government,  are  fully  apprised  of  the  opposition  which  the  Presi- 
dent has  to  encounter  in  the  management  of  Indian  affairs. 
They  know  that  in  discharging  his  high  duty,  to  advance  the  real 
interest  of  the  Indians,  and  secure  the  rights  of  Georgia,  he  will 
be  opposed  by  the  prejudices,  the  ignorance,  and  the  feigned  sen- 
sibility of  affected  philanthropists,  and  still  more  by  the  party 
seeking  to  succeed  him  in  office.  The  Legislature  of  the  State 
and  its  Executive  have  therefore  endeavored  to  pursue  such 
policy,  in  relation  to  every  thing  connected  with  the  Indians,  as 
to  aid  the  President  in  sustaining  his  measures.  He  will  be 
satisfied  of  this  by  the  accompanying  report  and  resolutions  of 
the  Legislature,  and  the  message  of  the  Executive. 

It  is  my  duty  to  state  to  the  President,  that  I have  lately 
received  information  from  a highly  respectable  source,  that  Gen. 
Coffee,  the  United  States  Agent  for  taking  testimony  in  relation 
to  the  disputed  line,  has  been  subjected  to  an  attempt  to  have 
palmed  upon  him  much  corrupt  testimony. 

Mr.  Gates,  the  Georgia  Commissioner,  who  lives  immediately 
upon  the  line  of  the  disputed  territory,  writes  me  thus  : — “ I am 
informed  that  Major  Ridge,  a Cherokee,  had  some  old  drunken 
Indians,  heretofore  chiefs,  drilling  for  a week,  and  then  intro- 
duced them  to  General  Coffee,  as  competent  evidence.”  The 
constant  and  active  efforts  of  Ridge  to  thwart  the  views  of  the 
Government,  renders  this  account  highly  probable.  It  is,  how- 
ever, less  regarded,  because  it  is  believed  that  the  President 
himself  is  well  acquainted  with  the  facts  connected  with  the 


336 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


present  possession  of  the  Cherokees,  Indian  habits,  and  the  char- 
acter of  their  principal  chiefs.  I have  requested  Mr.  Gates  to 
endeavor  to  procure  some  evidence,  in  a more  authentic  form,  of 
the  truth  of  his  statement  as  to  Ridge’s  conduct. 

Georgia  considers  herself  entitled  to  the  immediate  possession 
of  the  country  claimed,  hut  is  "willing  to  have  the  right  postponed 
for  the  attainment  of  a more  important  object.  If  that  object  is 
not  effected  by  the  means  adopted  during  the  present  session  of 
Congress,  the  State  expects  that  the  President  will,  so  far  as  his 
own  power  extends,  do  her  justice,  by  having  the  Cherokees  re- 
moved from  so  much  of  the  territory  as  is  included  in  the  treaty 
lately  made  with  the  Creeks. 

These  remarks  are  submitted  to  the  President  with  senti- 
ments of  the  most  respectful  consideration. 

George  R.  Gilmer. 

To  the  President  of  the  United  States. 


Soon  after  tliis  correspondence  with  the  officers  of 
the  General  Government,  the  Cherokee  chief,  Ridge, 
with  a large  party  of  Indians  under  his  command,  en- 
tered the  disputed  territory,  and  dispossessed  the  whites, 
by  burning  all  the  houses  occupied  by  them.  The  In- 
dians were  armed  and  painted.  The  weather  was 
exceedingly  inclement,  the  earth  being  covered  with 
snow.  Two  women  in  childbed  were  exposed  to  its 
severity.  The  difficulty  of  preserving  peace  when  the 
frontier  people  wanted  protection  from  the  Indians, 
and  the  Indians  were  redressing  their  imagined  wrongs 
by  shedding  the  blood  of  the  whites — excited  as  both 
whites  and  Indians  were  by  the  contest  about  this  dis- 
puted territory — will  be  understood  by  the  following 
correspondence.  That  only  a single  life  was  lost  when 
so  many  were  perilled,  is  a matter  for  wonder. 


Executive  Department,  Milledgeville,  15th  Feb.,  1830. 

Sir, — I have  just  been  informed  by  express,  that  a party  of 
Indians,  headed  by  Ridge,  have  entered  into  the  territory  now  in 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


337 


dispute  between  this  State  and  the  Cherokees,  and  destroyed 
fourteen  or  fifteen  houses  occupied  by  our  citizens.  The  houses 
were  formerly  possessed  by  the  Cherokees.  They  were  pur- 
chased of  them  by  the  treaty  of  1828,  and  paid  for  by  the  United 
States.  The  Indian  occupants  had  also  received  a valuable  con- 
sideration for  them  from  the  citizens  who  were  in  possession 
at  the  time  they  were  burnt.  It  is  understood  that  very  few 
Cherokees  remain  upon  any  part  of  the  disputed  territory.  The 
conduct  of  Ridge  and  his  party  have  been  without  justification 
in  this  matter,  on  account  of  their  knowledge  of  the  determination 
of  the  President  not  to  interfere  with  the  present  occupants  of 
the  disputed  territory,  either  white  or  Indian,  until  the  possessory 
right  shall  be  determined  to  be  in  one  or  the  other.  The  Indians 
are  represented  to  have  been  painted  and  armed,  and  to  have 
acted  under  the  orders  of  their  principal  chief.  The  whites,  ex- 
cited by  this  outrage,  have  endeavored,  in  a very  informal  way, 
to  have  the  trespassing  Indians  arrested.  Application  has  been 
made  to  me  for  the  aid  of  the  military  authority,  to  defend  the 
citizens  of  the  frontier  from  attack.  It  has  not  been  granted, 
from  the  belief  that  the  Indians  will  not  attempt  any  further 
violence.  This,  however,  is  far  from  being  certain.  I shall  re- 
quest the  commanding  officer  of  the  United  States  troops  at  Fort 
Mitchel,  to  march  with  a sufficient  force  for  the  protection  of  that 
part  of  our  frontier  where  danger  seems  to  be  apprehended. 
The  President  will  perceive,  in  this  state  of  things,  additional  in- 
ducement to  comply  with  the  request  which  has  been  hitherto 
made  him,  to  remove  the  Cherokee  Indians  from  all  the  lands 
within  this  State  to  which  they  have  no  clear  possessory  title. 

Very  respectfully  yours,  &c. 

George  R.  Gilmer.. 


To  the  Hon.  John  H.  Eaton. 


Executive  Department,  Milledgeville , 15 th  Feb.,  1S30. 

Dear  Sir, — From  the  information  received  by  express  this 
day,  I learn  that  the  Cherokees  have  burnt  the  houses  occupied 
by  the  whites  in  the  territory,  the  right  to  possess  which  is  now 
in  dispute  between  them  and  the  Georgians,  and  that  the  whites 
have  revenged  themselves  by  killing  one  of  the  Indians  and  con- 
fining another  in  Carroll  jail.  I also  understand  that  the  sheriff 
22 


338 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


of  Carroll,  and  twenty  followers,  are  about  to  enter  the  Cherokee 
country  in  search  of  the  Indians  who  destroyed  the  houses.  It 
is  very  important  to  the  interest  as  well  as  the  character  of  the 
State,  that  these  acts  of  violence  should  he  stopped.  The  law 
extending  the  civil  jurisdiction  of  the  State  over  the  Cherokee 
country  will  not  go  into  operation  until  next  June,  and  does  not 
therefore  alfect  the  rights  of  the  Indians.  The  Cherokees  have 
been  for  a long  time  in  possession  of  the  territory  which  is  now 
claimed  by  Georgia,  and  many  of  them  yet  occupy  it.  The 
houses  burnt  were  within  the  disputed  territory.  The  white 
occupants  were  considered  by  the  United  States  intruders,  and 
subject  to  be  driven  off.  The  General  Government  has  only  de- 
ferred the  orders  to  its  troops  to  do  so  until  the  right  of  Georgia 
to  the  country  can  be  examined  into  and  determined  upon.  Its 
final  decision  is  looked  for  daily.  It  is  therefore  exceedingly 
important  that  no  acts  of  violence  should  be  committed  by  our 
citizens.  If  the  Indians  who  burnt  the  houses  have  committed 
any  violence  upon  the  personal  rights  of  our  citizens,  they  have 
rendered  themselves  liable  to  be  arrested  and  punished.  But 
this  does  not  seem  to  have  been  the  case.  An  inquiry  was  made 
of  the  War  Department,  by  direction  of  the  last  Legislature,  as 
to  the  ownership  of  the  houses.  The  answer  was,  that  the  In- 
dians could  not  convey  the  houses  to  our  people.  This  answer 
was  communicated  to  the  Legislature,  and  acquiesced  in. 

My  object  in  writing  is  to  inform  you  of  the  facts,  and  to  re- 
quest the  interposition  of  the  civil  authority  in  suppressing  any 
further  violence  on  the  part  of  our  citizens. 

I write  in  great  haste. 

Very  respectfully  yours,  <fcc. 

George  B.  Gilmer. 

"To  the  Hon.  "Walter  J.  Colquit. 

Executive  Department,  Milledgeville,  1 \th  March,  1830. 

Sir, — I have  received  your  letter,  inclosing  the  report  of  the 
committee  on  Indian  affairs,  for  which,  please  to  accept  my 
thanks.  The  deepest  interest  is  felt  here  for  the  success  of  the 
measures  proposed  by  the  committee.  Their  failure  will  pro- 
duce a most  unpleasant  state  of  things  in  Georgia.  The  mutual 
irritation  between  the  people  of  the  State  and  the  Cherokees, 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


339 


renders  it  improbable  that  our  laws  can  be  executed  without  acts 
of  violence.  The  whites  and  half-breeds,  who  are  most  capable 
of  understanding  and  valuing  the  benefits  of  civil  government, 
are  the  most  active  in  opposing  the  jurisdiction  of  the  State. 
Their  conduct,  together  with  the  constant  abuse  of  the  State  and 
its  people,  by  the  opposition  to  the  present  administration,  under 
the  guise  of  sympathy  for  the  Indians,  will  draw  upon  them  the 
most  rigid  enforcement  of  the  laws.  The  officers  of  the  frontier 
counties,  who  will  be  the  instruments  of  their  execution,  reside 
in  a community  too  much  excited,  to  expect  that  their  conduct 
will  be  uniformly  conciliatory.  A late  occurrence  has  added 
very  much  to  the  excitement  among  both  whites  and  Indians. 
You  are  aware,  that  early  in  the  last  year  the  Legislature  caused 
an  investigation  to  be  made  into  the  title  of  the  State  to  the  im- 
mediate possession  of  a part  of  the  country  in  the  occupancy  of 
the  Cherolcees,  and  a survey  to  be  made  of  it  for  the  purpose  of 
ascertaining  its  extent.  Soon  after,  most  of  the  Cherokees,  who 
resided  upon  the  land,  accepted  of  the  terms  offered  them  by  the 
treaty  of  1828,  received  the  valuation  for  their  possessions,  trans- 
ferred them  to  citizens  of  Georgia,  and  removed  to  the  West. 
In  this  manner  the  disputed  country  became  settled  almost  en- 
tirely by  the  whites.  The  Governor  of  Georgia  applied  to  the 
President,  to  have  the  few  remaining  Cherokees  removed  from 
it ; and  the  Cherokee  Chiefs  made  a similar  application,  to  re- 
move the  whites.  The  President  declined  complying  with  the 
request  of  either,  until  it  should  be  determined  by  an  investiga- 
tion (which  he  ordered  to  be  made),  to  whom  the  right  of  posses- 
sion belonged.  With  the  knowledge  that  the  investigation  was 
not  completed,  and  that  the  President  had  ordered  that  the  whites 
on  the  disputed  territory  should  not,  for  tire  time,  be  treated  as 
intruders,  Ross,  the  principal  chief  of  the  Cherokees,  directed 
Ridge  (known  to  be  the  most  active  and  malignant  enemy  of 
Georgia)  to  destroy  all  the  houses  occupied  by  the  whites,  on  a 
day  when  the  earth  was  covered  with  snow  and  sleet.  The 
order  was  executed  by  burning  the  houses.  A number  of  women, 
with  infant  children,  were  thus  deprived  of  shelter  from  the 
severity  of  the  coldest  and  most  inclement  weather.  Such  has 
been  the  excitement  produced  by  this  outrage,  that  it  has  been 
with  the  utmost  difficulty  that  the  people  have  been  restrained 


840 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


from  taking  ample  vengeance  upon  the  perpetrators.  All  the  in- 
fluence of  the  Executive  of  the  State  has  been  used  to  prevent  any 
further  violence.  It  is  hoped  that  every  member  of  the  United 
States  Government  will  perceive,  in  this  state  of  things,  sufficient 
reason  for  the  use  of  the  most  effective  means  for  the  removal  of 
the  Indians.  The  occasion  does  not  admit  of  the  discussion  of 
mere  abstract  questions.  It  is  required  by  the  interests  of  all 
the  parties  concerned,  and  especially  that  of  the  great  body  of 
the  Indians. 

With  sentiments  of  the  highest  respect,  yours,  &c. 

George  R.  Gilmer. 

Honorable  Hugh  White. 

Executive  Department,  Milledgeville,  6th  May , 1830. 

Dear  Sir, — Your  letter,  together  with  the  documents  from 
the  War  Department,  which  you  have  so  obligingly  had  copied 
for  me,  have  been  received.  I do  not  understand  the  object  of 
the  President  in  withholding  from  the  Executive  of  the  State  the 
official  communication  of  his  determination  in  relation  to  the 
disputed  territory. 

Your  opinion,  that  the  possessory  right  of  the  Cherokee  tribe 
to  the  places  occupied  by  individuals  who  have  received  value 
for  their  improvements,  and  agreed  to  emigrate,  is  extinguished 
thereby,  and  the  corresponding  policy  of  the  administration,  in 
determining  not  to  consider  the  white  persons  who  have  settled 
upon  those  improvements,  intruders,  opens  to  the  State  the  most 
certain  prospect  of  insuring  the  enforcement  of  her  laws,  and 
acquiring  her  entire  territory. 

I am  in  doubt,  as  to  what  ought  to  be  done  with  the  gold 
diggers.  They,  with  their  various  attendants,  foragers  and 
suppliers,  make  up  between  six  and  ten  thousand  persons.  They 
occupy  the  country  between  the  Chestatee  and  Etowah  Rivers, 
near  the  mountains,  gold  being  found  in  the  greatest  quantity 
deposited  in  the  small  streams  which  flow  into  those  rivers. 
There  are  no  Indians  residing  in  that  section  of  the  country. 
The  quantity  of  gold  is  said  to  be  very  great.  It  is  intimated, 
that  the  gold  diggers  intend  procuring  the  consent  of  the  Chero- 
kee Council  to  the  continuance  of  their  operations,  if  the  United 
States  Government  should  attempt  to  remove  them  as  intruders, 
thereby  evading  the  non-intercourse  law. 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


341 


The  State  considers  itself  entitled  to  all  the  valuable  miner- 
als within  the  soil  of  the  Cherokee  territory,  by  virtue  of  its  fee- 
simple  ownership,  and  is  now  permitting  itself  to  he  plundered 
of  its  wealth,  from  the  strong  desire  of  its  authorities  to  avoid 
any  collision  with  the  General  Government.  If,  however,  the 
gold  diggers  should  attempt  to  evade  the  operation  of  the  United 
States  laws,  in  the  manner  suggested,  it  may  become  necessary 
for  the  State  to  protect  its  property,  by  taking  possession  of  the 
gold  region.  If  it  should,  it  is  hoped  that  it  will  be  under  cir- 
cumstances which  will  prevent  any  opposition  on  the  part  of  the 
General  Government. 

I have  not  issued  a proclamation,  ordering  the  gold  diggers 
to  cease  their  operations  and  to  depart  from  the  Cherokee  terri- 
tory, because  the  laws  of  the  State  give  the  Executive  no  power 
to  enforce  such  a proclamation.  I cannot  call  upon  the  General 
Government  to  enforce  the  non-intercourse  law,  because  I do  not 
believe  that  it  has  the  constitutional  right  to  do  so.  All  that  I 
can  do,  is  not  to  resist  the  exercise  of  an  authority  which  has 
been  uniformly  acquiesced  in  by  the  Legislature  of  the  State, 
and  all  of  my  predecessors. 

Very  respectfully,  yours,  Ac. 

George  R.  Gilmer. 

Honorable  John  McPherson  Berman, 

A tty.  Gen.  of  the  United  States. 


When  this  letter  was  written  to  the  Attorney  Gen- 
eral, a community  was  forming  in  the  gold  regions 
scarcely  ever  paralleled  any  where.  Many  thousands  of 
idle,  profligate  people  flocked  into  the  country,  from 
every  point  of  the  compass,  whose  pent  up  vicious  pro- 
pensities, when  loosed  from  the  restraints  of  law  and 
public  opinion,  made  them  like  the  evil  one,  in  his 
worst  mood.  After  wading  all  day  in  the  creeks  which 
make  the  Etowah  and  Chattahoochee  Rivers,  picking  up 
particles  of  gold,  they  collected  around  light  wood  knot 
fires,  at  night,  and  played  on  the  ground  and  their  hats, 
at  cards,  dice,  push  pin,  and  other  games  of  chance,  for 


342 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


their  clay’s  finding.  Numerous  whiskey  carts  supplied 
the  appropriate  aliment  for  their  employments.  Hun- 
dreds of  combatants  were  sometimes  seen  at  fisticuffs, 
swearing,  striking,  and  gouging,  as  frontier  men  only 
can  do  these  things. 

About  the  last  of  May,  the  Congress  of  the  United 
States  passed  a law,  authorizing  the  President  to  ex- 
change with  any  Indian  tribe  the  lands  occupied  by 
them  in  any  State  or  Territory,  for  lands  of  the  United 
States  west  of  the  Mississippi.  This  law  was  passed  by 
a majority  of  five  votes  only.  It  was  opposed  most 
violently  in  both  Houses,  although  its  enactments  were 
altogether  favorable  to  the  Indian  tribes,  and  was  the 
most  certain  way  by  which  the  Government’s  contract 
to  extinguish  the  Indian  title  to  the  lands  occupied  by 
them  in  Georgia  could  be  extinguished.  The  sectional 
interests  of  the  Northern  and  Middle  States,  and  the 
partisan  opposition  to  the  Administration,  resisted 
every  effort  made  by  the  United  States  and  Georgia 
to  place  the  Ckerokees  in  a situation  more  favorable  to 
their  civilization  and  improvement  than  that  which 
they  then  occupied,  surrounded  and  mixed  up  as  they 
were  with  the  whites,  who  corrupted  their  morals,  and 
lessened  their  attachment  to  each  other,  by  lessening 
their  identity. 

Immediately  after  the  time,  when,  by  the  Act  of 
the  Legislature,  the  laws  of  the  State  became  of  force 
in  the  Cherokee  territory,  I gave  notice  of  it  to  all 
whom  it  concerned,  by  the  following  proclamation, 
forbidding  trespasses  upon  the  gold  mines  in  the  Cher- 
okee territory,  and  notifying  the  Indians,  and  whites 
living  among  them,  of  the  extension  of  the  State’s  juris- 
diction over  them.  So  much  as  is  supposed  to  be 
necessary  to  understand  what  is  said  about  it,  is  copied 
here. 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


343 


Whereas,  it  has  been  discovered,  that  the  lands  in  the  terri- 
tory, now  occupied  by  the  Cherokee  Indians,  within  the  limits  of 
this  State,  abound  with  valuable  minerals,  especially  gold:  And 
whereas,  the  State  of  Georgia  has  the  fee-simple  title  to  said 
lands,  and  the  entire  and  exclusive  property  in  the  gold  and 
silver  therein  : And  ivhereas,  numerous  persons,  citizens  of  this 
and  other  States,  together  with  the  Indian  occupants  of  said 
territory,  taking  advantage  of  the  law  of  this  State,  by  which 
its  jurisdiction  over  said  territory  was  not  to  be  assumed  until 
the  first  day  of  June  last  past,  have  been,  and  are  now  employed 
in  digging  for  gold  in  said  land,  and  taking  therefrom  great 
amounts  in  value,  to  the  injury  of  its  public  resources  : And 
whereas,  the  absence  of  legal  restraint,  and  the  nature  of  their 
pursuits,  have  caused  a state  of  society  to  exist  among  said  per- 
sons, too  disorderly  to  be  permitted  : And  whereas,  an  Act  of 
the  Legislature  has  added  the  territory  occupied  by  the  Cher- 
okee Indians,  included  in  the  limits  of  this  State,  to  the  counties 
of  Carroll,  DeKalb,  Gwinnett,  Hall,  and  Habersham,  and  ren- 
dered void  all  Cherokee  laws  : And  whereas,  the  jurisdiction 
of  the  State  is  now  extended  over  said  territory,  and  all  persons 
therein,  made  subject  thereto. — Now,  for  the  purpose  of  remov- 
ing all  persons  from  the  lands  of  the  State,  in  the  territory 
aforesaid,  except  such  as  are  permitted  by  the  laws  or  assent  of 
the  State  to  occupy  the  same  ; to  secure  to  the  State  its  pro- 
perty in  the  minerals  therein,  and  to  put  an  end  to  the  laivless 
state  of  society  which  has  hitherto  existed  among  the  gold  dig- 
gers in  said  territory  ; I have  thought  proper  to  issue  this,  my 
Proclamation,  notifying  all  persons  whom  it  may  concern,  that 
the  jurisdiction  of  this  State  is  now  extended  over  all  the  terri- 
tory in  the  occupancy  of  the  Cherokees,  included  within  the 
limits  of  the  State. 

The  following;  letter  was  written  to  the  President 
of  the  United  States,  immediately  after  issuing  the 
Proclamation,  informing  him  of  the  policy  which  the 
authorities  of  the  State  were  pursuing,  upon  the  sub- 
jects of  the  Indians  and  gold  mines. 


344 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


Executive  Department,  Milledgeville,  \5th  June,  1830. 

Sir, — I transmit  to  the  President,  for  his  information,  a 
proclamation,  which  is  designed  to  notify  the  Indians  within  this 
State,  of  the  extension  of  its  jurisdiction  over  them,  and  to  re- 
quire white  persons  as  well  as  Indians,  to  desist  from  trespass- 
ing upon  the  property  of  the  State,  by  taking  gold  or  other 
valuable  minerals  from  its  ungranted  land.  Before  this  procla- 
mation reached  the  part  of  the  State  occupied  by  the  Cherokees, 
the  United  States  troops  had  driven  from  it  all  persons  except 
Indian  occupants. 

The  President  is  aware,  that  such  an  exercise  of  power,  with- 
out the  consent  of  Georgia,  is  believed  to  be  unauthorized  by 
the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  especially  since  the  pas- 
sage of  the  law.  by  Georgia,  extending  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
State  over  all  its  Indian  territory.  It  is,  however,  so  important 
an  object  with  the  State  to  obtain  from  the  United  States  the 
execution  of  its  contract  of  1802  to  remove  the  Indians  from 
within  its  limits,  that  it  has  been  unwilling  to  create  the  least 
embarrassment  by  any  assertion  of  its  rights,  in  opposition  to 
the  policy  of  the  General  Government.  This  disposition  has 
been  increased,  by  the  special  confidence  reposed  in  the  present 
administration. 

From  information  just  received,  there  is  much  reason  to  ap- 
prehend considerable  disturbances,  and  perhaps  bloodshed,  from 
•the  manner  in  which  the  order  of  the  President  to  remove  in- 
truders, has  been  executed  by  the  officers  commanding  the 
regular  troops.  The  persons  who  have  been  removed  by  them, 
were  engaged  in  mining  for  gold.  Their  numbers  amounted  to 
several  thousand,  most  of  whom  had  found  their  employment 
exceedingly  profitable.  The  Indians  in  their  immediate  vicinity, 
so  far  from  objecting  to  the  occupation  of  their  country  by  the 
gold  miners,  favored  their  presence.  They  were  not  interrupted 
in  the  accustomed  enjoyment  of  their  country,  by  the  taking 
gold  from  its  soil.  The  gold  region  is  situated  very  near  the 
thickly  inhabited  part  of  the  frontier  of  the  State.  When  the 
gold  diggers  were  removed  by  the  troops,  although  much  dis- 
content was  felt,  they  retired  to  their  homes  without  any  actual 
resistance.  It,  however,  soon  became  known,  that  the  mines 
from  which  they  had  been  driven  were  immediately  taken  pos- 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


345 


session  of  by  the  Indians  and  the  whites  connected  with  them, 
and  that  they  were  permitted  to  take  the  gold,  without  any  re- 
sistance from  the  troops.  Very  great  excitement  is  said  to  be 
the  result.  There  is  much  reason  to  apprehend  that  the  Indians 
will  be  forcibly  driven  from  the  gold  region,  unless  they  are  im- 
mediately prohibited  from  appropriating  its  mineral  wealth. 

Georgians  think  that  they  violate  no  law  except  that  of  the 
State,  in  digging  for  gold  within  its  limits  ; and  that  after  the 
passage  of  the  law  extending  its  jurisdiction  over  the  Cherokee 
country,  the  Government  of  the  United  States  has  no  author- 
ity to  enforce  the  non-intercourse  law.  What  effect  the  Execu- 
tive proclamation  may  have  in  allaying  this  excitement,  is  very 
uncertain.  It  is  probable  that  it  may  prevent  an  immediate 
attack  upon  the  Indians,  from  the  expectation  that  they  will  be 
restrained  by  the  authorities  of  the  State. 

I shall  be  compelled  to  resort  to  the  tedious  process  of  the 
courts,  for  this  purpose,  the  laws  of  the  State  not  having  invest- 
ed the  Governor  with  the  power  to  protect  the  public  property 
by  military  force.  In  the  mean  time,  it  is  very  desirable,  that 
the  President  should  direct  the  officers  commanding  the  United 
States  troops,  to  prevent  intrusion  upon  the  property  of  the 
State  by  the  Indians,  at  the  same  time  that  they  are  defending 
the  occupant  rights  of  the  Indians  from  intrusion  by  the  whites. 
The  President  will  perceive,  that  in  the  proclamation  forbidding 
all  persons,  both  whites  and  Indians,  from  taking  gold  from  the 
territory  of  the  State  in  the  occupation  of  the  Indians,  that  the 
right  of  the  State  to  all  the  gold  and  silver  in  its  ungranted 
lands  is  asserted.  All  the  European  nations  who  made  dis- 
covery, conquests,  or  took  possession  of  any  portion  of  this  con- 
tinent, claimed  the  exclusive  right  to  all  the  gold  and  silver 
mines  within  their  possessions.  This  was,  in  fact,  the  first  and 
strongest  inducement  to  the  enterprise  of  the  early  adventurers 
to  this  country. 

In  addition  to  this  right  assumed  by  all  European  nations, 
the  King  of  Great  Britain  claimed,  by  virtue  of  the  common  law 
of  England,  to  be  the  sovereign  owner  of  all  the  lands  within 
his  kingdom,  and  especially  in  the  American  Colonies.  Upon 
the  independence  of  the  States,  their  Governments  became 
entitled  to  all  the  rights  of  sovereignty  over  the  territory  within 


346 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


their  limits,  ■which  had  before  belonged  to  the  Kings  of  Great 
Britain.  The  State  of  Georgia  is  therefore  entitled  to  the  gold 
and  silver  in  its  territory  occupied  by  the  Indians,  as  well  by 
the  customary  law  established  by  the  nations  by  whom  this 
country  was  settled,  as  the  fee-simple  or  permanent  title  which 
it  derives  from  the  crown  of  Great  Britain. 

The  Courts  of  this  State  have  uniformly  determined  that 
the  State  is  the  proprietor  of  all  the  ungranted  lands  within  it, 
including  those  in  the  occupancy  of  the  Indians.  This  right  is 
claimed  by  each  of  the  original  States  of  the  Union.  It  is 
certainly  the  right  of  Georgia,  according  to  the  decision  of  the 
Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States. 

If  the  Indians  take  possession  of  the  gold  mines  through  the 
assistance  of  the  United  States  Government,  they  will  be  fixed 
upon  the  soil  instead  of  being  removed.  It  is  said  that  prepara- 
tions are  making  by  a large  number  of  the  wealthy  Cherokees 
to  remove  into  the  gold  region  for  the  purpose  of  participating 
in  its  mineral  riches.  If  they  can  be  protected  in  so  doing  by 
the  United  States,  vTe  shall  thus  not  only  retain  the  Cherokees 
■who  have  hitherto  occupied  the  lands  of  the  State,  but  many  of 
those  wdio  reside  in  Tennessee,  Alabama,  and  North  Carolina. 
The  United  States  is  bound  by  contract  to  prevent  this  state  of 
things.  No  doubt  is  entertained  of  the  disposition  of  the  Pre- 
sident to  perform  the  obligations  of  the  Government  in  good 
faith.  The  State  of  Georgia  cannot  permit  her  rights  to  be 
violated  by  persons  subject  to  her  jurisdiction,  as  the  Indians 
are  acknowledged  to  be,  without  applying  a remedy  adequate  to 
the  removal  of  the  evil.  In  exercising  this  power,  if  it  should 
unfortunately  become  necessary,  it  will  be  the  object  of  the 
State  to  do  it  in  such  manner  as  to  aid  rather  than  thwart  the 
policy  of  the  present  administration,  and  carefully  to  guard  from 
violating  the  rights  intended  to  be  secured  to  the  Indians. 

Very  respectfully  yours,  &c., 

George  It.  Gilmer. 

To  the  President  of  the  United  States. 

P.  S. — I have  this  moment  received  information  which  may 
be  relied  on,  that  when  the  Executive  proclamation  was  received 
all  the  Indians  left  the  mines,  but  that  most  of  the  whites  and 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


347 


wealthy  half-breeds  continued  digging  for  gold.  I have  not  yet 
understood  what  effect  the  proclamation  has  had  upon  the  intru- 
ders who  have  been  driven  off,  and  who  have  evinced  a disposi- 
tion to  act  with  violence.  An  agent  of  great  discretion  and 
firmness,  will  be  immediately  sent  to  the  gold  region,  with  direc- 
tions to  enjoin,  by  process  from  the  courts,  all  persons  who  may 
he  found  trespassing  upon  the  rights  of  the  State.  In  this  way 
hopes  are  entertained  that  peace  and  order  may  be  restored  to 
our  frontier. 

George  It.  Gilmer. 

Whilst  I was  harassed  by  the  difficulty  of  pre- 
venting trespasses  upon  the  land  wlier^gold  ivas  found, 
and  enforcing  the  jurisdiction  of  the  State  upon  the 
Cherokee  people,  I received  the  following  letter  from 
Mr.  Wirt: 

Baltimore,  June  4th,  1830. 

Sir, — A just  respect  for  the  State  of  Georgia,  and  a desire 
to  avoid  a misconstruction  which  misfit  be  attended  with  evil 

O 

consequences,  seems  to  me  to  call  for  a commuiiication  which, 
under  other  circumstances,  might  well  he  deemed  officious  and 
intrusive.  The  excitement  with  regard  to  the  Indians  within 
your  borders  is  already  so  high,  and  in  this  state  of  feeling 
measures  of  the  most  innocent  character  are  so  easily  misappre- 
hended and  converted  into  causes  of  offence,  that  I persuade 
myself  your  Excellency  will  at  least  approve  the  motive  of  this 
letter  as  a measure  of  peace. 

The  Cherokee  nation  have  consulted  me  professionally  as  to 
their  rights  under  their  various  treaties  with  the  United  States. 
Among  other  questions,  they  have  asked  me  whether,  under  the 
Federal  Constitution,  laws,  and  treaties,  the  State  of  Georgia  has 
the  right  to  extend  her  laws  compulsively  into  their  nation  ; and 
whether  this  question  can  or  cannot  he  carried  for  decision  to 
the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States.  I am  fully  aware  of 
the  serious  import  of  these  questions,  and  regret  exceedingly 
that  they  have  arisen.  I foresee  distinctly  the  disastrous  con- 
sequences which  may  be  made  to  flow  from  giving  the  contro- 
versy this  direction ; and  yet  if  it  be  met  and  conducted  with 


348 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


proper  temper,  as  I trust  it  will,  it  is  quite  as  apparent  that 
it  may  prove  the  means  of  peace  and  reconciliation. 

I have  not  sought  this  consultation.  It  has  been  cast  upon 
me  in  the  common  and  regular  practice  of  my  profession,  and 
according  to  my  understanding  of  my  professional  duties,  I am 
not  at  liberty  to  refuse  either  my  advice  or  services  to  any  one 
who  comes  to  consult  me  on  his  legal  rights,  and  who  has  noth- 
ing more  in  view  than  the  assertion  of  those  rights  according  to 
the  course  of  the  law  of  the  land. 

It  is  my  misfortune  to  differ  with  the  constituted  authorities 
of  the  State  of  Georgia  on  the  question  of  her  power  to  extend 
her  laws  into  the  Cherokee  nation ; and  the  late  debates  in  Con- 
gress will  have  satisfied  your  Excellency  that  in  this  opinion  I 
am  not  singular,  hut  that  I hold  it  in  common  with  many  of  the 
most  distinguished  lawyers  on  our  continent.  We  may  he 
wrong  ; and,  as  infallibility  is  not  the  lot  of  mortals,  those  who 
hold  the  opposite  opinion  may  possibly  be  wrong.  Fortunately, 
there  exists  a tribunal,  before  rvhich  this  difference  of  opinion 
may  be  quietly  and  peaceably  settled,  and  to  this  tribunal  I 
think  it  may  be  regularly  referred.  I perceive  that  in  the  de- 
bates to  which  I have  alluded,  a mistaken  humanity  has  been 
supposed  to  warp  the  judgment  on  one  side  of  this  question, 
and  interest  on  the  other.  In  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United 
States  we  shall  find  a tribunal  as  impartial  and  as  enlightened 
as  can  be  expected  on  this  earth  ; or,  if  partiality  can  be  sup- 
posed to  find  its  way  into  that  high  tribunal  on  any  occasion,  it 
is  not  on  such  a one  as  this  that  the  Cherokee  nation  have  a 
right  to  expect  it  in  their  favor.  To  them  the  courts  of  the 
United  States  are  foreign  courts,  while  they  are  the  domestic 
tribunals  of  the  States  of  the  Union. 

I have  told  these  people  that  I am  willing  to  assist  them  in 
bringing  their  rights  for  final  decision  before  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  United  States,  on  the  condition  that  they  conduct 
themselves  peaceably  towards  the  people  of  Georgia  and  of  the 
United  States,  and  that  they  make  the  question  purely  a ques- 
tion of  law  for  our  courts  ; but  that  I will  abandon  them  and 
their  cause  on  the  first  aggression  by  violence  on  the  white 
people  around  them  which  shall  be  authorized  by  their  nation. 
It  is  but  justice  to  add,  that  in  those  of  the  nation  who  have 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


349 


been  with  me,  ancl  who  compose  the  delegation  that  have  been 
at  Washington  through  the  winter,  I have  not  discovered  the 
slightest  disposition  to  violence.  They  are  civilized  and  well- 
informed  men.  They  wear  our  dress,  speak  our  language  cor- 
rectly, and  in  their  manners  indicate  all  the  mildness  and  much 
of  the  culture  and  courtesy  of  our  own  best  circles.  They 
assure  me  that  their  people  at  home  have  abandoned  the  habits 
of  savage  life,  and  subsist  by  agriculture  and  the  other  usual 
and  peaceful  pursuits  of  civilized  societies.  They  profess,  and 
I believe  with  entire  sincerity,  to  be  willing  to  make  the  ques- 
tion of  their  rights  under  their  treaties,  questions  of  pure  law 
for  the  decision  of  our  own  courts  ; and  as  I perceive  by  the  re- 
ported debates  in  Congress  that  a measure  of  this  sort  has  been 
anticipated,  and  that  one  of  your  enlightened  senators  in  that 
body  expressed  a strong,  and  without  doubt,  a sincere  convic- 
tion that  the  decision  of  the  judiciary  would,  if  it  should  ever  be 
asked,  be  in  favor  of  the  right  of  the  State  to  legislate  over  the 
Cherokee  nation ; I cannot  but  indulge  the  hope  that  in  pro- 
posing to  bring  this  question  before  the  Supreme  Court,  I shall 
have  advised  a measure  rather  pleasing  than  otherwise  to  the 
State  of  Georgia. 

Be  this  as  it  may,  I cannot  reconcile  it  to  my  sense  of  pro- 
priety to  have  any  agency  in  this  affair  without  apprising  your 
Excellency,  frankly  and  respectfully,  of  what  is  intended.  I de- 
sire to  have  it  distinctly  understood  on  every  hand,  that  neither 
these  people  nor  their  counsel  aim  at  any  thing  more  in  this 
movement  than  an  open,  peaceable,  and  respectful  appeal  to  the 
opinion  of  our  own  courts,  the  courts  of  the  Union. 

Your  Excellency  will  not  understand  me  as  asking  or  ex- 
pecting that  you  will  take  the  trouble  to  answer  this  letter.  My 
object  is  single  and  sincere ; it  is  simply  to  avoid  all  appear- 
ance of  concealment,  and  all  misapprehension  or  surprise  on  the 
part  of  the  State  of  Georgia,  by  advising  your  Excellency  fairly 
and  openly  of  the  measure  in  contemplation,  and  by  assuring 
you  that  there  is  no  other  purpose  in  view  than  a quiet,  peacea- 
ble, and  respectful  reference  of  the  questions  of  law  and  right  in 
dispute  between  the  State  of  Georgia  and  the  Cherokee  people 
to  the  highest  court  of  our  nation,  the  Supreme  Court  of  the 
United  States. 


350 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


Your  Excellency  will  permit  me  to  assure  you  further,  that 
in  the  future  measures  which  may  grow  out  of  this  controversy, 
so  far  as  they  shall  he  under  my  direction,  care  will  he  taken  to 
give  as  little  trouble  as  possible  to  the  constituted  authorities  of 
the  State  of  Georgia,  and  that  the  discussion  will  be  conducted 
with  all  the  respect  for  that  State  and  its  laws  which  may  con- 
sist with  the  proper  assertion  of  what  I consider  the  rights  of 
this  unfortunate  people. 

The  decision  may  be  expedited  by  making  a case  by  consent, 
if  that  course  should  suit  the  views  of  the  State  of  Georgia.  It 
is  not  asked,  however,  but  suggested  merely  for  your  considera- 
tion, with  an  assurance  that  if  it  should  meet  your  approbation, 
the  Cherokees  will  cheerfully  concur  in  the  measure. 

The  motives  which  have  led  me  to  trouble  you  with  this 
communication  make  it  equally  proper,  I think,  that  I should 
submit  a copy  of  it  to  the  President  of  the  United  States ; and 
I shall  place  another  copy  in  the  hands  of  the  Cherokee  delega- 
tion, in  order  that  they  may  distinctly  see  and  remember  the 
conduct  which  is  expected  from  their  people,  and  what  alone 
they  have  a right  to  expect  from  me. 

I have  the  honor  to  remain,  sir,  most  respectfully, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

William  Wirt. 

To  this  letter  of  Mr.  Wirt’s  I wrote  the  following 
answer : — 

Executive  Department,  Milledgeville,  19 th  June,  1830. 

Sir, — Your  communication  addressed  to  the  Governor  of 
Georgia,  has  been  received,  informing  him  of  your  employment 
by  the  Cherokee  Indians  to  defend  them  against  the  operation 
of  the  laws  of  the  State,  and  proposing  a reference,  of  what  you 
have  thought  proper  to  call  the  dispute  between  the  Cherokee 
Nation  and  the  State  of  Georgia,  to  the  Supreme  Court  of  the 
United  States.  The  Governor  of  Georgia  knows  of  no  reason 
why  he  should  be  notified  that  professional  duty  required  of  you 
to  take  fees  of  all  Avho  ask  your  advice.  Georgia  claims  no  juris- 
diction over  the  lawyers  of  Maryland.  Your  justification  will 
have  become  appropriate  when  that  State  interferes  with  your  pro- 
fessional business.  Why  it  should  be  the  misfortune  of  a citizen 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


35i 


of  Maryland  (as  you  say  it  is  yours)  to  differ  with  the  constituted 
authorities  of  Georgia,  is  not  very  clearly  understood.  You  are 
neither  responsible  for  the  legislation  of  the  State,  nor  subject 
to  its  control.  There  is  no  doubt  but  that  many  of  the  lawyers, 
like  yourself,  profess  to  believe  that  the  State  has  usurped 
authority,  and  violated  the  faith  of  treaties,  by  passing  laws 
for  the  protection  of  the  rights,  and  punishing  the  crimes  of  the 
Indian  people  who  reside  within  its  limits.  It  is  known  that 
the  extent  of  the  jurisdiction  of  Georgia,  and  the  policy  of  re- 
moving the  Cherokees  and  other  Indians  to  the  west  of  the 
Mississippi,  have  become  party  questions.  It  is  not  therefore 
surprising,  that  those  who  engage  in  the  struggle  for  power, 
should  find  usurpation  and  faithlessness  in  the  measures  of  the 
Government,  accordingly  as  the  loss  of  office,  or  the  hope  of  its 
acquisition,  may  enlighten  their  understandings.  What  you 
say  of  the  fallibility  of  the  constituted  authorities  of  Georgia,  is 
a truism  of  universal  application,  and  can  have  no  meaning  but 
your  intention  to  render  the  application  particular. 

You  say  that  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  is  a 
high,  impartial,  and  enlightened  tribunal.  Why  such  commen- 
dation ? 

The  promise  you  make  to  use  your  professional  influence  to 
prevent  your  clients,  the  Indians,  from  committing  violence  upon 
the  people  of  Georgia,  is  very  kind — coming  as  it  does  from  a 
private  citizen  of  another  State — and  will,  without  doubt,  create 
an  obligation  upon  the  people,  whose  safety  is  intended,  com- 
mensurate with  the  favor  to  he  received. 

There  are  no  fears  felt  in  Georgia  of  Indian  violence,  al- 
though it  is  highly  probable  that  your  efforts  will  he  productive 
of  some  mischief.  It  is  believed  that  the  Cherokees  in  Georgia 
had  determined  to  unite  with  that  portion  of  their  tribe  who  have 
removed  to  the  west  of  the  Mississippi,  if  the  policy  of  the  Presi- 
dent were  sustained  by  Congress.  To  prevent  this  result,  as 
soon  as  it  became  highly  probable  that  the  Indian  bill  would 
pass,  the  Cherokees  were  persuaded  that  the  right  of  self-gov- 
ernment could  be  secured  to  them  by  the  power  of  the  Sujireme 
Court,  in  defiance  of  the  legislation  of  the  General  and  State 
Governments.  It  was  not  known,  however,  until  the  receipt  of 
your  letter,  that  the  spirit  of  resistance  to  the  laws  of  the  State 


352 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


and  views  of  the  United  States,  which  have  of  late  been  evident 
among  the  Indians,  had  in  any  manner  been  occasioned  by  your 
advice.  Although  insurrection  among  the  Indian  people  of 
Georgia  may  be  the  consequence  of  your  proceedings,  and  those 
who  act  in  unison  with  you,  the  constituted  authorities  of  the 
State  disclaim  all  right  to  interfere  with  you  in  any  manner,  so 
long  as  you  keep  yourself  beyond  the  jurisdiction  of  the  State. 

You  have  thought  proper  to  give  the  Governor  of  Georgia  an 
account  of  the  civilization  of  the  Cherokees — describing  those 
whom  you  have  known  to  be  polished  gentlemen,  and  those  whom 
you  do  not  know  to  have  ceased  to  be  savages.  What  you  say 
of  the  intelligence  of  the  members  of  the  Cherokee  tribe  who 
were  in  Washington  City  last  winter,  is  partly  true,  and 
equally  descriptive  of  many  others.  They  are  not  Indians,  how- 
ever, but  the  children  of  white  men,  whose  corrupt  habits  or  vile 
passions  have  led  them  into  connection  with  the  Cherokee  tribe. 
It  is  not  surprising  that  the  white  men,  and  the  children  of  white 
men,  have  availed  themselves  of  the  easy  means  of  acquiring 
wealth,  which  the  Cherokee  territory  has  presented  for  thirty  or 
forty  years  ; nor  that  intelligence  and  spirited  activity  should 
increase  with  their  increasing  wealth ; nor  that,  when  wealth, 
intelligence,  and  industry  are  confined  to  the  whites,  and  the 
children  of  white  men,  that  the  power  over  the  tribe  should 
become  centered  in  the  same  hands.  But  that  these  causes  are 
calculated  to  produce  similar  effects  upon  the  Indians — the  real 
aborigines — is  disproved  by  every  example  among  the  thousands 
which  the  experience  of  the  two  last  centuries  has  furnished  in 
every  part  of  this  continent.  The  Cherokees  have  lost  all  that 
was  valuable  in  their  Indian  character — have  become  spiritless, 
dependent,  and  depraved,  as  the  whites  and  their  children  have 
become  wealthy,  intelligent,  and  powerful.  So  long  as  the  Cher- 
okees retained  their  primitive  habits,  no  disposition  was  shown 
by  the  States,  under  the  protection  of  whose  government  they 
resided,  to  make  them  subject  to  their  laws.  Such  policy  would 
have  been  cruel,  because  it  would  have  interfered  with  their 
habits  of  life,  the  enjoyments  peculiar  to  Indian  people,  and  the 
kind  of  government  which  accorded  with  those'  habits  and  enjoy- 
ments. It  was  the  power  of  the  whites  and  their  children  among 
the  Cherokees  that  destroyed  the  ancient  laws,  customs,  and 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


353 


authority  of  the  tribe,  and  subjected  the  natives  to  the  rule  of 
that  most  oppressive  of  governments,  an  oligarchy.  There  is 
nothing  surprising  in  this  result.  From  the  character  of  the 
peeple,  and  the  causes  operating  upon  them,  it  could  not  be 
otherwise.  It  was  this  state  of  things  that  rendered  it  obligatory 
upon  the  State  of  Georgia  to  vindicate  her  rights  of  sovereignty, 
by  abolishing  all  Cherokee  government  within  its  limits.  Whe- 
ther intelligent  or  ignorant,  the  State  of  Georgia  has  passed  no 
laws  violative  of  the  liberty,  personal  security,  or  private  property 
of  any  Indian.  It  has  been  the  object  of  humanity  and  wisdom 
to  separate  the  two  classes  among  them,  giving  the  rights  of 
citizenship  to  those  who  are  capable  of  performing  its  duties  and 
properly  estimating  its  privileges  ; and  increasing  the  enjoy- 
ment, and  the  probability  of  future  improvement  of  the  ignorant 
and  idle,  by  removing  them  to  a situation  where  the  inducements 
to  action  will  be  more  in  accordance  with  the  character  of  the 
Cherokee  people. 

Your  suggestion,  that  it  would  be  convenient  and  satisfactory 
if  yourself,  the  Indians,  and  the  Governor,  would  make  up  a law- 
case  to  be  submitted  to  the  Supreme  Court  for  the  determination 
of  the  question,  whether  the  Legislature  of  Georgia  has  com- 
petent authority  to  pass  laws  for  the  government  of  the  Indians 
residing  within  its  limits,  however  courteous  the  manner,  and 
conciliatory  the  phraseology,  cannot  but  be  considered  disre- 
spectful to  the  Government  of  the  State.  No  one  knows  better 
than  yourself,  that  the  Governor  would  grossly  violate  his  duty, 
and  exceed  his  authority,  by  complying  with  such  a suggestion, 
and  that  both  the  letter  and  spirit  of  the  powers  conferred  by 
the  Constitution  upon  the  Supreme  Court  forbid  its  adjudging 
such  a case.  Your  suggestion  is  but  an  evidence  of  the  state  of 
that  contest  in  which  the  advocates  of  power  are  exerting  them- 
selves to  increase  the  authority  of  the  departments  of  the 
General  Government,  whilst  the  friends  of  liberty  and  the 
rights  of  the  people  are  in  opposition,  endeavoring  to  sustain 
the  sovereignty  of  the  States.  It  is  hoped  that  the  efforts  of 
the  General  Government  to  execute  its  contract  with  Georgia — 
to  secure  the  continuance,  and  advance  the  happiness  of  the 
Indian  tribes — and  to  give  quiet  to  the  country — may  be  so 
23 


354 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


effectual  as  to  prevent  the  necessity  of  any  further  intercourse 
upon  this  subject.  Yours.  Ac. 

George  E.  Gilmer. 

I had  never  felt  so  indignant  as  I did  upon  reading 
Mr.  Wirt’s  letter.  Some  explanation  may  be  necessary 
to  understand  why,  and  the  spirit  of  my  reply. 

Mr.  Wirt's  first  wife  was  my  kinswoman,  the  daugh- 
ter of  Dr.  George  Gilmer  of  Albemarle,  the  brother  of 
my  grandfather.  Mr.  Wirt  was  poor,  unknown,  and 
undistinguished,  when  Dr.  Gilmer  took  him  into  his 
house,  gave  him  his  daughter,  and  introduced  him 
into  the  society  of  his  friends — then  the  best  in  that 
part  of  the  country  of  his  residence.  Soon  after  the 
death  of  his  first  wife,  Mr.  Wirt  removed  to  Richmond, 
and  then  to  Xorfolk,  and  was  in  danger  of  being  utterly 
ruined  by  dissipation,  when  he  again  prospered  by  mar- 
rying the  daughter  of  Colonel  Gamble  of  Richmond, 
my  wife’s  first  cousin.  My  wife  lived  with  Mr.  Wirt’s 
family  in  Richmond,  when  she  was  a little  girl  going 
to  school.  Mr.  Wirt  had  been  so  great  a favorite  with 
mv  own  familv  friends,  that  he  was  named  for  his  exe- 
cuter  by  my  grandfather  Gilmer.  His  niece,  a young 
lady  who  had  resided  with  him  during  the  life  of  his 
first  wife,  was,  after  Dr.  Gilmer’s  death,  taken  into  his 
house  by  my  wife’s  father,  Mr.  Grattan,  with  whom 
she  remained  until  her  marriage  with  Mr.  Dabney 
Minor. 

All  these  circumstances  induced  me  to  believe  that 
Mr.  Wirt  expected  that  his  age,  high-standing,  and  in- 
timate relationship  with  my  family  friends,  would 
induce  me  to  do  at  his  request  what  I would  refuse  to 
another.  A fee  of  twenty  thousand  dollars  was  cer- 
tainly a very  urgent  inducement  to  every  means  for 
success. 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


355 


This  letter  to  Mr.  Wirt  was  published  in  the  papers 
of  Milledgeville,  without  my  approval.  It  produced 
the  most  united  expression  of  popular  approbation 
which  I received  whilst  I was  in  the  Executive  Depart- 
ment. The  people  assembled  en  masse  the  night  after, 
paraded  before  my  house  with  drum,  and  fife,  and  noisy 
acclamations.  A very  different  expression  from  what  I 
received  when  I recommended  the  appropriation  of 
the  gold  mines  to  public  purposes. 

To  the  judges  whose  circuits  included  the  Cherokee 
country,  and  whose  duty  it  was  to  enforce  the  laws- of 
the  State  upon  the  Indians,  and  the  white  people  re- 
siding among  them,  I addressed  the  following  letter - 

0 0 7 O 

Executive  Department,  Milledgeville,  1th  June , 1830. 

Sir, — I send  you  a Proclamation,  giving  notice  of  the  exten- 
sion of  the  jurisdiction  of  the  State  over  the  Indian  territory — a 
part  of  which  is  within  your  judicial  circuit — requiring  obedience 
to  our  laws  from  all  persons  residing  therein.  I believe  myself, 
that  the  principles  of  humanity  and  policy  require  that  no  vio- 
lations of  our  laws  by  Indians  should  be  noticed  for  the  present 
by  our  courts,  except  the  particular  offences  specified  in  the  law 
extending  the  jurisdiction  of  the  State  over  them,  and  that  these 
should  be  punished  with  the  utmost  rigor  and  certainty.  The 
effect  of  this  course  will  be,  to  drive  from  the  State  all  those 
Indians  and  Indian  people  who  are  unwilling  to  become  subject 
to  the  laws  of  the  State,  and  to  leave  the  ignorant  and  peaceable, 
free  from  the  action  of  their  chiefs,  to  choose  whether  they  will 
accept  the  offers  of  the  General  Government,  and  remove  to  the 
West,  or  remain  where  they  are.  I have  no  doubt  but  that  the 
great  body  of  them  will  remove,  if  their  refractory  chiefs  can 
be  strictly  governed,  and  that  their  situations  will  be  greatly 
improved  by  such  removal.  I believe  that  justice  entitles  those 
to  remain  where  they  are,  who  will  be  satisfied  with  the  lands 
which  they  have  improved  and  occupy,  and  so  much  more  as 
may  be  necessary  for  their  use.  For  the  government  of  these, 


356 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


laws  ought  to  be  passed,  as  well  to  guard  and  protect  their 
weakness  and  ignorance,  as  to  punish  their  vices. 

Very  respectfully  yours,  &c. 

George  R.  Gilmer. 

Hon.  Augustin  S.  Clayton. 

Note. — A letter  similar  to  the  above  sent  to  Judge  Colquitt. 

Executive  Department,  Milledyeville,  6th  July,  1830. 

Dear  Sir, — A short  time  ago,  I received  a formal  notice  from 
a very  distinguished  lawyer  of  Maryland,  (a  partisan  of  the 
opposition),  that  he  was  counsel  for  the  Cherokee  Indians,  and 
suggesting  the  advantage  of  making  a case  for  the  determination 
of  the  Supreme  Court,  upon  the  right  of  the  State  to  pass  laws 
for  the  government  of  the  Indians  residing  within  its  limits. 

The  suggestion  has  been  rejected  as  highly  insulting.  The 
author  of  this  notice  has  sent  a copy  of  it  to  the  President.  I 
understand  that  the  President  concurs  with  me,  in  deprecating 
the  interference  of  the  Supreme  Court  with  this  question.  No- 
thing but  the  most  disastrous  consequences  can  flow  from  the 
determination  of  the  Federal  Courts,  that  they  have  appellate 
jurisdiction  in  cases  brought  in  the  Courts  of  Georgia,  against 
the  Indians  residing  within  its  limits.  We  desire  no  decision  of 
that  Court  to  sustain  the  sovereign  rights  of  the  State.  They 
rest  upon  higher  authority — the  power  which  necessarily  be- 
longed to  the  State  when  it  became  independent,  and  which  it 
retained,  when  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  was 
formed. 

The  Indian  question  is  too  excitable,  and  of  too  partisan  a 
character  for  the  interference  of  the  Supreme  Court.  The 
judges  are  men,  and  members  of  the  community,  subject  to  the 
same  frailties  and  passions  with  others.  If  they  could  be  im- 
partial. their  decisions  would  not  be  so  considered  by  those  to 
whom  their  opinions  might  be  adverse. 

There  is,  too,  a love  of  power,  which  tempts  men  to  be  the 
arbiters  of  the  destiny  of  others.  Of  all  the  departments  of  the 
General  Government,  the  Judiciary  alone  is  irresponsible.  The 
members  sacrifice  no  personal  interest  by  their  decisions.  All 
men  are  disposed  to  believe  that  power  is  more  safely  deposited 
with  themselves  than  others.  All  men  naturally  interpret  in- 


FIE  ST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


857 


struments  concerning  their  own  power  or  interest  most  favorably 
to  themselves.  Is  there  not  danger,  therefore,  that  the  Supreme 
Court  may  assume  to  itself  powers  which  are  not  conferred  upon 
it  by  the  Constitution,  and  destructive  of  the  Governments  of  the 
States'?  Talented  men  can  always  give  plausibility  to  their 
ambitious  purposes.  The  Supreme  Court  ought  not,  therefore, 
to  be  tempted  to  assume  so  high  a power  as  prescribing  limits 
to  the  jurisdiction  of  the  States  in  all  cases,  for  such  would  be 
the  power  if  it  could  restrain  the  State’s  authority  from  passing- 
laws  for  the  government  of  the  Indians  residing  within  its 
limits. 

There  k,  too,  no  probability  that  the  State  of  Georgia  would 
submit  to  the  orders  of  the  Court  if  it  should  determine  that  the 
laws  of  the  State  in  relation  to  the  Indians  were  void.  It  is, 
therefore,  important  that  no  case  should  be  transferred  from  the 
courts  of  the  State  to  the  Federal  Courts.  I have  been  induced 
to  write  thus  freely  and  fully,  because  it  is  understood  at  Wash- 
ington City  that  you  are  desirous  that  the  Federal  Court  should 
assume  the  jurisdiction  of  determining  the  extent  of  the  right  of 
the  State  to  govern  its  Indian  people.  I have  no  doubt  but  that 
the  opposition  are  very  desirous  of  bringing  that  question  before 
the  Federal  Court,  in  order  to  keep  up  the  resistance  of  the 
whites  and  the  half-breeds  to  the  removal  of  the  Cherokees.  Our 
lawyers  ought  to  know  the  object  of  the  opposition,  and  refuse  to 
he  concerned  in  such  a case. 

Very  respectfully,  yours,  <fcc. 

George  R.  Gilmer. 

Honorable  Augustin  S.  Clayton. 

Judge  Clayton,  to  whom  this  letter  was  addressed, 
was  related  by  marriage  with  Mr.  Wirt  in  several 
ways,  and  his  association  with  Mr.  Wirt  and  family 
very  intimate. 

The  Legislature  conferred  upon  me  no  authority 
sufficient  for  the  prevention  of  trespassers  upon  the  gold 
mines.  I was,  therefore,  obliged  to  use  such  expedients 
as  I could  for  that  purpose.  I found  paper  bullets  but 
light  artillery  against  masses  of  men  who  could  not 


358 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


read.  The  proclamation  giving  notice  of  the  extension 
of  the  jurisdiction  of  the  State  over  the  Cherokee  ter- 
ritory, and  forbidding  trespasses  upon  the  gold  mines, 
made  but  slight  impression  upon  heads  accustomed  to 
hard  knocks.  I added  to  these  the  authority  of  a 
Superintendent  of  public  lands,  whose  business  it  was 
to  restrain  trespassers  by  writs  of  the  courts.  I con- 
ferred this  new-fangled  agency  upon  Col.  Yelverton 
King.  The  following  letter  explains  what  he  was  re- 
quired to  do. 


Executive  Department,  Millcdrjeville,  21sf  June,  1830. 

Dear  Sir, — You  will  receive  with  this  letter  the  appointment 
of  Superintendent  of  the  public  lands  in  the  occupancy  of  the 
Cherokees,  together  with  instructions  as  to  the  duty  which  you 
will  have  to  perform.  I am  very  desirous  that  you  should  accept 
this  appointment,  and  immediately.  I am  confident  that  the 
presence  of  a person  of  your  character  and  firmness  in  the  Chero- 
kee country  will  be  calculated  to  prevent  riots  dangerous  to  its 
peace,  to  preserve  to  the  State  valuable  public  property,  and 
obtain  from  the  Indians  an  acquiescence  in  the  extension  of  the 
laws  over  them. 

The  Cherokees  were  prepared  to  have  submitted  without 
resistance  to  the  laws  of  Georgia  and  the  policy  of  the  General 
Government,  upon  their  failure  to  obtain  protection  from  the 
majority  of  Congress.  As  soon,  however,  as  it  became  highly 
probable  that  Congress  would  sustain  the  President  in  the  course 
which  he  had  recommended  for  the  removal  of  the  Indians,  the 
opposition  induced  them  to  believe  that  they  could  find  protection 
from  the  operation  of  the  laws  of  Georgia  and  the  power  of  the 
President  and  Congress,  by  appealing  to  the  Supreme  Court. 
A formal  notice  was  received,  two  days  ago,  from  the  former 
Attorney  General  of  the  United  States,  that  the  Cherokee  In- 
dians were  his  clients,  that  Georgia  was  not  infallible,  and  that 
her  laws  exercising  jurisdiction  over  the  Indians,  are  in  violation 
of  treaties.  It  is  highly  probable,  that  the  first  effort  to  resist 
the  authority  of  Georgia  will  be  by  an  endeavor  to  secure 
o the  Indians  the  gold  mines.  With  the  possession  of  this  source 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


359 


of  wealth,  the  removal  of  the  Cherokees  may  be  delayed  a great 
while.  The  enforcement  of  the  powers  of  the  State  to  protect 
from  trespass  the  gold  in  the  lands  occupied  by  the  Cherokees, 
through  the  jurisdiction  of  its  courts,  is,  therefore,  the  question 
upon  which  most  probably  the  contest  is  to  commence  between 
the  State,  the  Cherokees,  and  their  allies. 

The  duty  which  you  will  have  to  perform  will,  therefore,  be 
of  the  highest  importance,  not  only  to  Georgia,  but  the  whole 
Union.  If  the  State  can,  by  any  act  of  the  General  Government, 
be  deprived  of  its  sovereign  jurisdiction  over  all  persons  residing 
within  its  limits,  the  whole  character  of  our  institutions  will  be 
changed,  and  the  powers,  the  retention  of  which  are  most  valu- 
able to  the  people,  because  the  best  security  for  the  preservation 
of  their  rights,  will  have  been  lost.  The  contest  is  one  in  which 
the  country  has  a right  to  claim  the  services  of  all  her  citizens, 
and  especially  the  patriotic  and  talented. 

Very  respectfully,  yours,  &c., 

George  It.  Gilmer. 

Col.  Yelyerton  P.  King. 


It  was  ascertained  very  soon,  that  the  Superinten- 
dent of  public  lands  could  do  but  little  by  writs  of  in- 
junction and  suits  of  law.  The  bayonets  of  the  United 
States  troops  were  found  far  more  effective.  The  diffi- 
culty whicli  remained  was,  that  although  the  troops 
removed  the  citizens  of  Georgia  and  those  of  the  ad- 
joining States  from  the  Indian  country,  the  Cherokee 
half-breeds  and  the  whites  licensed  to  live  among  them, 
continued  to  collect  gold.  It  was  a sore  trial  to  fron- 
tier Georgians  to  keep)  away  from  the  golden  treasure 
in  the  land  which  they  considered  theirs,  whilst  it  was 
plundered  by  others  who  had  no  right  at  all.  There 
was  great  danger  that  the  frontier  citizens,  the  Indians, 
and  licensed  occupants  of  the  Indian  country,  would 
battle  for  the  possession  of  the  gold  mines.  The  follow- 
ing letters  will  give  a glimpse  of  this  danger : — 


360 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


Executive  Department,  Milledgeville,  28th  June,  1830. 

Sir,- — I have  just  received  intelligence,  that  the  Militia  of 
Hall  County  are  about  to  be  marched  into  the  country  occupied 
by  the  Cherokees,  for  the  purpose  of  making  prisoners  of  those 
who  are  engaged  in  digging  for  gold.  If  this  information  be 
true,  and  any  of  the  Indian  people  are  arrested,  you  will  cause 
them  to  be  liberated  immediately.  Explain  to  the  Inferior 
Court  of  Hall  County  and  to  all  other  Magistrates,  so  far  as  you 
can,  that  it  is  not  considered  a criminal  offence  for  the  Cherokee 
people  to  dig  for  gold  in  the  lands  occupied  by  the  tribe,  and 
that  they  are  not  liable  to  an  arrest  therefor  : That  the  title  to 
the  gold  belongs  to  the  State  in  consequence  of  its  fee-simple 
title  to  the  soil,  and  that  the  violations  of  that  right  can  only  be 
redressed  by  the  Superior  Court,  because  of  its  exclusive  juris- 
diction of  all  cases  respecting  titles  to  land.  Endeavor  to  con- 
vince the  Militia  officers  and  those  under  their  command,  that 
the  Governor  alone  can  call  them  into  the  service  of  the  State, 
except  in  case  of  sudden  invasion  or  insurrection,  and  then  only 
through  the  Commanding  Officer  of  the  county ; that  to  commit 
acts  of  hostility  upon  the  Cherokee  people,  without  such  orders, 
will  be  a very  high  offence  ; and  if  the  death  of  any  one  should 
be  occasioned  thereby,  each  concerned  will  be  guilty  of  murder. 
Endeavor  to  convince  every  one,  both  Georgians  and  Cherokees, 
that  the  public  property  in  the  gold  regions  will  be  protected. 
Considerable  excitement  is  said  to  have  been  occasioned  by  the 
arrest  of  a number  of  citizens  of  the  State  by  the  United  States 
troops,  without  legal  process.  Perhaps  some  indulgence  is  to  be 
granted  to  acts  immediately  resulting  therefrom.  If,  however, 
you  shall  find  any  persons  persisting  in  violating  the  rights  of 
the  Indians,  spare  no  exertions  to  cause  such  to  be  arrested  and 
punished. 

Much  anxiety  will  be  felt,  until  it  shall  be  known  with  cer- 
tainty whether  an  attack  upon  the  Indians  was  really  made  by 
the  Militia  of  Hall. 

Yery  respectfully,  yours,  &c., 

George  R.  Gilmer. 


Col.  Yelverton  P.  King. 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


361 


Executive  Department,  Milledgeville,  5 ih  July,  1830. 

Dear  Sir, — I send  you  copies  of  communications  from  the 
War  Department,  by  which  you  will  perceive,  that  the  United 
States  troops  are  ordered  to  restrain  the  Indians  from  taking 
gold,  and  other  minerals,  from  the  lands  of  Georgia. 

You  will  oblige  me  by  showing  these  papers  as  soon  as  pos- 
sible, to  the  commanding  officer  of  the  United  States  troops,  and 
requesting  his  earliest  attention  to  their  contents.  It  is  desir- 
able that  the  most  cordial  co-operation  should  exist  between  the 
United  States  and  State  Governments,  upon  the  subject  of  our 
Indian  affairs. 

You  are  aware,  that  it  would  he  contrary  to  my  opinion  of 
the  rights  of  this  State,  to  recognize  by  any  official  act,  the 
power  of  the  United  States  Government  to  remove  the  Indians 
from  the  Cherokee  lands.  I believe,  however,  that  their  pre- 
sence in  the  Cherokee  country  is  very  useful,  in  restraining  the 
whites  from  trespassing  upon  the  public  property,  and  commit- 
ting violence  upon  the  Indians.  The  President  has  been  inform- 
ed that  the  Indians  will  be  protected  if  possible. 

A report  has  reached  here,  which  I suppose  to  be  true,  that 
Col.  Harden,  of  Hall  County,  has  been  arrested  by  the  United 
States  troops,  and  is  now  a prisoner,  and  that  the  commanding 
officer  is  at  a loss  to  know  what  to  do  with  him.  It  is  very  desir- 
able that  his  release  should  he  effected,  without  the  determina- 
tion of  the  courts  upon  the  right  of  the  troops  to  arrest.  The 
effect  of  their  presence,  in  restraining  our  citizens,  ought  not  to 
be  lost,  if  it  can  be  avoided.  Present  this  view  of  the  subject 
to  the  commanding  officer.  If  you  have  obtained  any  writs  of 
injunction  against  the  Indians  to  stay  waste,  you  will  stop  their 
service,  and  all  further  proceedings,  until  it  is  discovered  whether 
the  Indians  will  be  restrained  by  the  United  States  troops, 
under  the  orders  which  have  been  issued.  I feel  great  interest 
upon  this  subject,  because  it  is  important  to  prevent  any  inter- 
ference on  the  part  of  the  Federal  Court.  The  transfer  of  any 
suit  to  the  Federal  Court,  although  the  hope  of  success  might 
be  very  small,  would  operate  very  injuriously,  by  keeping  up 
the  resistance  of  the  whites  and  half-breeds.  Such  is  no  doubt 
the  object  of  the  opposition.  The  President,  I am  assured, 
unites  with  the  authorities  of  the  State,  in  deprecating  any  con- 


362 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


nection  between  tliis  highly  excitable  party  question,  and  the 
Supreme  Court.  Nothing  but  the  most  injurious  consequences 
can  follow  from  such  an  interference.  Endeavor  to  convince  the 
members  of  the  profession  of  the  law,  upon  the  frontier,  of  the 
injury  which  may  result  from  their  being  instrumental  in  trans- 
ferring from  the  State  Courts,  any  suit  relative  to  her  rights  of 
jurisdiction  over  the  Indian  people,  to  the  Federal  Court. 

Very  respectfully,  yours,  &c., 

George  It.  Gilmer. 

Col.  Yelyerton  P.  King. 


The  first  difficulty  which  occurred  in  the  enforce- 
ment of  the  laws  of  the  State  over  the  Cherokee  terri- 
tory, Avas  the  liberation  of  a squad  of  gold  diggers, 
arrested  by  the  United  States  troops  for  a violation  of 
the  laws  of  the  United  States,  by  the  Judge  of  the 
Superior  Court  of  the  Circuit.  The  removal  of  white 
men  from  the  Cherokee  territory  by  the  troops  of  the 
United  States,  was,  at  the  time,  the  only  means  by 
which  such  removal  could  be  effected.  None  had  been 
placed  in  the  hands  of  the  Governor,  or  other  officers 
of  the  State,  sufficient  for  the  purpose. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

The  impossibility  of  restraining  trespassers  upon  the 
gold  mines  by  any  means  at  the  command  of  the  Gov- 
ernor, and  the  difficulties  which  the  United  States 
troops  created  by  the  manner  in  which  they  removed, 
the  whites  from  the  Indian  territory,  induced  me  to 
call  the  Legislature  together  earlier  than  the  prescribed 
time.  This  was  done  by  the  following  proclamation. 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


363 


Whereas,  thousands  of  persons  have  entered  upon  the  lands 
of  the  State,  in  the  occupancy  of  the  Cherokees,  and  are  now, 
and  have  been  for  some  time  past,  employed  in  taking  great 
quantities,  in  value,  of  gold  therefrom  : And  whereas,  this  state 
of  things  was  unforeseen  by  the  Legislature,  and  therefore  no 
laws  have  been  passed  for  the  prevention  thereof : And  whereas 
the  powers  vested  in  the  Executive  Department  by  the  Constitu- 
tion and  laws,  do  not  sufficiently  enable  the  Governor  to  remove 
or  restrain  such  trespassers  : — It  is  therefore  considered  that  an 
extraordinary  occasion  has  occurred,  for  convening  the  General 
Assembly  of  the  State  at  a period  earlier  than  that  prescribed 
by  law.  I have  therefore  thought  fit,  and  by  virtue  of  the  power 
vested  in  me  by  the  Constitution,  do  hereby  require  the  members 
of  each  House  of  the  General  Assembly  of  this  State,  to  con- 
vene at  the  State-House  in  Milledgeville,  on  Monday,  the  eigh- 
teenth of  October  next,  then  and  there  to  deliberate  and  decide 
on  such  matters  as  the  public  welfare  may  render  necessary. 

George  R.  Gilmer. 

The  following  extracts  from  my  message  to  the 
Legislature,  will  show  the  policy  which  I recommended 
in  relation  to  the  public  lands,  the  gold  mines,  the 
government  of  the  Cherokee  territory,  and  the  white 
persons  residing  among  the  Indians. 


In  the  early  part  of  the  year,  gold  was  discovered  in  great 
quantities  in  the  Indian  lands.  The  Act  of  1829  having  fixed 
upon  the  first  of  June,  as  the  time  when  the  laws  were  to  be  ex- 
tended over  that  part  of  the  State,  all  persons  seemed  to  con- 
sider themselves  at  liberty,  in  the  mean  time,  to  appropriate  as 
much  of  its  mineral  riches  to  themselves  as  possible. 

The  whole  community  became  very  much  excited  by  rumors 
of  the  great  profits  made  by  those  who  were  engaged  in  search- 
ing for  gold.  The  love  of  gain  became  stimulated  to  excess. 
All  classes  of  people,  but  especially  the  idle  and  profligate, 
pressed  into  the  mineral  region,  with  the  hope  of  acquiring 
wealth  with  little  labor.  The  thousands  of  persons  thus  col- 
lected together,  operated  upon  by  motives  which  lead  to  most  of 


331  FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 

the  disorders  of  society,  and  freed  from  the  restraints  which  the 
laws  impose  upon  the  evil  dispositions  of  men,  exhibited  scenes  of 
vicious  indulgence,  violence,  and  fraud,  which  would  not  have 
been  tolerated  for  a moment  if  means  could  have  been  used  to 
prevent  them.  The  rights  of  occupancy  belonging  to  the 
Indians  were  wholly  disregarded,  and  they  were  not  permitted 
to  participate  in  the  riches  of  the  earth,  which  circumstances 
made  common  to  all  for  the  time. 

So  far  as  the  United  States,  our  sister  States,  and  foreign 
Governments  are  concerned,  the  rights  of  jurisdiction  and  soil 
are  perfect  as  exercised  by  the  State  over  the  Cherokees.  and 
the  lands  occupied  by  them.  These  rights  have,  however,  their 
correspondent  duties.  If  you  subject  the  Indians  to  our  laws, 
they  have  a right  to  our  protection.  If  the  exigencies  of  the 
State  require  that  the  gold  mines  in  the  country  occupied  by 
them,  should  be  taken  possession  of,  such  exercise  of  power 
should  not  be  extended  further  than  the  public  necessity  requires. 
The  desire  of  acquiring  land  for  individual  profit,  ought  not  to 
be  the  operative  motive  in  directing  what  may  be  done.  It  is 
also  due  to  our  own  character  that  we  should  have  a jealous  care 
lest  we  press  that  necessity  beyond  what  the  public  interest, 
the  preservation  and  use  of  the  public  property,  and  the  enforce- 
ment of  the  laws,  require.  Even  the  measure  of  surveying  the 
Cherokee  territory,  however  useful  for  the  proper  administration 
of  the  laws,  may  be,  on  account  of  the  sensitive  feelings  of  the 
humane,  excited  as  they  have  been,  by  the  selfish  and  improper 
statements  of  political  partisans,  so  liable  to  misconstruction, 
that  it  would  be  magnanimously  forbearing,  in  the  Legislature, 
perhaps  wise,  to  delay  the  adoption  of  that  measure  for  the 
present. 

In  removing  intruders,  it  will  be  expedient  to  consider  all 
white  persons  such,  without  regard  to  their  length  of  residence, 
or  the  permission  of  the  Indians.  The  citizens  of  this  and 
other  States,  who  have  taken  refuge  in  the  Indian  country  to 
escape  from  the  punishment  due  to  their  crimes,  or  connected 
themselves  with  their  society  from  unfitness  to  live  in  civilized 
communities,  have  not  thereby  acquired  any  claim  upon  the 
State  to  peculiar  privileges.  Much  of  the  opposition  of  the 
Cherokees  to  the  extension  of  the  laws  of  the  State  over  them, 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


365 


and  to  the  offers  made  by  the  United  States,  to  induce  their 
reunion  with  that  part  of  the  tribe  who  have  removed  to  the 
west  of  the  Mississippi,  have  proceeded  from  the  influence  of 
these  persons.  At  the  same  time  that  we  acknowledge  that 
it  would  he  harsh  to  compel  the  Indians  to  leave  the  country 
which  they  have  always  occupied,  yet,  believing  that  their 
removal  to  the  West  would  he  advantageous  both  to  themselves 
and  the  people  of  the  State,  it  is  proper  that  you  should  take 
away  any  extrinsic  causes  which  prevent  their  voluntary  action. 
It  may  be  proper,  as  wTell  as  expedient,  to  exempt  individuals 
of  good  character  from  the  operation  of  such  lawT,  upon  their 
taking  the  oath  to  support  the  Constitution  and  other  laws  of 
the  State,  or  giving  security  that  they  will  discharge  the  duties 
of  citizens  of  the  State.  The  number  of  white  men  residing 
among  the  Cherokees  within  the  limits  of  the  State,  is  esti- 
mated at  two  hundred  and  fifty,  exclusive  of  missionaries, 
traders,  and  pedlers.  About  one  hundred  are  living  with 
Indian  women ; fifty  have  permits  from  the  Cherokee  Chiefs, 
and  one  hundred  from  the  Cherokee  Agent.  Twenty -four  are 
possessed  of  negro  slaves. 

The  law  extending  the  jurisdiction  of  the  State  over  the 
Indians,  contains  no  provision  prohibiting  w'hite  persons  from 
entering  upon  their  lands.  The  Indians  will  be  exposed  to 
continual  vexation  and  disturbance,  unless  their  rights  are  so 
secured  as  to  enable  them  to  obtain  certain  redress  for  their 
violation.  Hitherto  intruders  have  been  kept  off  their  lands 
by  the  force  of  the  General  Government.  However  justifiable 
the  exertion  of  this  power  may  have  been  formerly,  it  cannot 
be  continued  any  longer  consistently  with  the  right  of  juris- 
diction which  has  been  assumed  by  the  State.  It  becomes 
therefore  an  imperative  duty  to  afford  to  the  Cherokees,  by 
your  enactments,  the  same  protection  from  intrusion  which 
they  formerly  received  from  the  United  States. 

The  tract  of  land  from  which  the  Cherokees  have  been 
removed  by  order  of  the  President,  is  supposed  to  contain 
464,646  acres,  and  is  now  subject  to  be  disposed  of  in  such  a 
manner  as  you  may  think  expedient.  The  great  object  to  be 
effected  by  the  State  in  the  appropriation  of  its  lands,  is  the 
increase  of  its  population,  the  excitement  of  its  people  to  in- 


366 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


dustry,  and  the  accumulation  of  wealth.  The  lottery  system, 
which  has  been  hitherto  adopted,  is  believed  to  be  better  cal- 
culated to  attain  these  ends  than  the  disposition  by  public 
sale.  In  an  unimproved  country,  where  capital  is  scarce,  in- 
terest high,  and  every  trade  and  employment  demand  labor 
and  wealth,  the  surplus  money  in  the  possession  of  the  people 
can  be  laid  out  more  usefully  in  making  improvements,  and 
otherwise  adding  to  the  riches  of  the  country,  than  if  drawn 
from  them  to  be  placed  in  the  public  treasury.  It  has  always 
been  found  more  difficult  to  restrain  improper  expenditures, 
arising  from  a full  treasury,  than  to  obtain,  through  the  powers 
which  belong  to  the  Government,  the  money  which  may  be 
really  required  for  public  purposes.  There  are  valuable  gold 
mines  in  the  lands  to  be  disposed  of.  The  public  interest  de- 
mands that  the  lots  of  land  which  contain  valuable  minerals 
shall  be  exempted  from  distribution.  The  spirit  of  speculation, 
which  the  disposition  of  the  public  lands  by  lottery  excites,  is 
the  great  objection  to  that  system.  The  knowledge  that  the 
land  to  be  disposed  of  contains  gold,  would  increase  that  spirit 
to  the  most  injurious  extent.  The  community  would  become 
highly  excited,  by  the  hope  of  acquiring  great  wealth  without 
labor.  The  morals  of  the  people  would  be  corrupted  by  the 
temptation  held  out  by  law,  to  the  commission  of  innumerable 
frauds.  Regular  industry  and  economy  might  be  suspended 
by  restless  idleness  and  imaginary  gains.  In  most  instances, 
even  the  successful  drawers  of  the  rich  prizes  would  not  be 
benefited.  Prodigality  is  the  usual  result  of  riches  suddenly 
and  easily  acquired.  Mines,  like  the  accumulation  of  the  peo- 
ple’s money  in  the  public  treasury,  should  be  managed  for 
general,  and  not  for  individual  advantage.  If  they  prove  ex- 
ceedingly profitable,  the  State  will  be  enabled  thereby  to  relieve 
the  people  from  taxation,  improve  all  the  public  roads,  render 
the  rivers  navigable,  and  extend  the  advantages  of  education 
to  every  class  of  society. 


Executive  Department,  Millcdgeville,  29th  Oct.,  1830. 

Sir, — By  an  act  of  the  Legislature  of  Georgia,  passed  at 
its  last  session,  all  the  Cherokee  territory,  and  the  persons 
occupying  it,  were  subjected  to  the  ordinary  jurisdiction  of  the 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA.  3 >7 

State  after  the  first  of  June  then  next  ensuing.  This  act  has 
gone  into  operation.  The  acknowledgment  by  the  President 
of  the  right  of  the  State  to  pass  such  an  act,  renders  it  unne- 
cessary to  say  any  thing  in  its  justification.  The  object  of 
this  letter  is  to  request  the  President  that  the  United  States 
troops  may  be  withdrawn  from  the  Indian  territory  within 
Georgia.  The  enforcement  of  the  non-intercourse  law  within 
the  limits  of  the  State,  is  considered  inconsistent  with  the  right 
of  jurisdiction  which  is  now  exercised  by  its  authorities,  and 
must,  if  continued,  lead  to  difficulties  between  the  officers  of 
the  United  States  and  State  Governments,  which  it  is  very 
desirable  should  be  avoided.  No  doubt  is  entertained,  that 
the  object  of  the  President  in  ordering  the  United  States 
troops  into  the  Cherokee  territory  was  the  preservation  of  the 
peace  of  the  Union.  The  motive  is  duly  appreciated. 

The  Legislature  of  the  State  is  now  in  session.  The  special 
object  of  its  meeting  is  the  enforcement  of  the  laws  of  the  State 
within  the  Cherokee  country,  and  the  punishment  of  intrusion 
into  it,  by  persons  searching  for  gold.  Its  power  is  amply 
sufficient  for  that  purpose.  The  law  for  the  punishment  of 
trespassers  upon  the  public  lands  will  go  into  operation  within 
a few  days ; the  President  is  therefore  requested  to  withdraw 
the  troops  as  soon  as  it  can  be  conveniently  done.  The  conduct 
of  Major  Wager  has  been  very  severe  to  the  gold  diggers.  In 
some  instances,  unoffending  citizens  have  been  made  the  subjects 
of  punishment  in  violation  of  the  rights  and  the  authority  of 
the  State.  Complaints  have  been  made  to  this  department, 
and  redress  asked  for.  The  removal  of  the  troops  is  believed 
to  be  the  most  effectual  means  of  preventing  the  repetition  of 
such  injuries.  Information  has  also  been  received  at  this  de- 
partment, that  the  digging  for  gold  is  still  carried  on  in  various 
parts  of  the  Cherokee  territory,  and  that  the  extent  of  country 
containing  mines  is  so  great,  that  it  is  wholly  impossible  to 
prevent  it  by  the  use  of  military  force  alone.  It  is  said  that  the 
Indians  are  even  more  extensively  employed  in  taking  gold 
than  before  the  arrival  of  the  troops.  This  proceeds  from  their 
residence  within  the  country,  intimate  acquaintance  with  it, 
and  other  means  of  avoiding  the  operation  of  the  troops.  The 
fear  of  the  whites  had  restrained  them  previously. 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


3(18 


The  President  is  assured,  that  whatever  measures  may  be 
adopted  by  the  State  of  Georgia,  in  relation  to  the  Cherokees, 
the  strongest  desire  Avill  be  felt  to  make  them  accord  with  the 
policy  which  has  been  adopted  by  the  present  administration 
of  the  General  Government. 

Very  respectfully,  yours,  &c. 

George  R.  Gilmf.r. 

To  the  President  of  the  United  States. 

Upon  receiving  an  answer  from  the  Secretary  of 
War,  that  the  order  had  been  issued  to  the  command- 
ing officer  of  the  troops  to  retire  from  the  Cherokee 
territory,  I made  the  following  communication  to  the 
Legislature : — 

O 

Executive  Department,  Milledgeville,  29 th  Oct.,  1830. 

I transmit  to  both  Houses  of  the  General  Assembly,  copies 
of  a communication  received  from  the  War  Department,  in  an- 
swer to  a letter  requesting  of  the  President  the  withdrawal  of 
the  United  States  troops  from  the  territory  of  the  State  occupied 
by  the  Cherokees.  The  Legislature  will  perceive,  in  the  con- 
duct of  the  President  in  this  matter,  as  well  as  all  others,  the 
disposition  to  accord  to  Georgia  all  her  rights.  The  removal 
of  the  United  States  troops  from  the  territory  occupied  by  the 
Cherokees,  creates  an  immediate  and  pressing  necessity  for  the 
passage  of  such  laws  as  may  effectually  restrain  all  persons  from 
entering  into  that  territory  for  the  purpose  of  taking  possession 
of  the  public  lands,  or  taking  valuable  minerals  therefrom,  with- 
out license  from  the  State. 

George  R.  Gilmer. 

Soon  after  I recommended  to  tlie  Legislature  to  au- 
thorize the  President  to  grant  fee-simple  reserves  to 
the  Cherokee  Chiefs,  in  making  a treaty  with  them  for 
the  lands  of  the  State,  as  follows : 

Executive  Department,  December  8 th,  1830. 

From  information  received  from  various  sources,  it  is  be- 
lieved that  the  efforts  of  the  President  to  remove  the  Cherokees 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


369 


from  -within  the  limits  of  the  State  would  he  essentially  aided 
by  the  passage  of  resolutions  by  the  Legislature,  giving  its  as- 
sent to  the  President’s  granting  to  the  Cherokees  fee-simple 
reserves,  in  any  treaty  or  contract  which  he  may  make  with 
them.  It  is  known  that  there  are  two  classes  among  the  Che- 
rokees, very  widely  separated  from  each  other.  One  consists 
of  white  men  with  Indian  families,  and  the  half-breeds.  This 
class  have  both  wealth  and  intelligence,  and  now  control  the 
tribe.  Some  of  them  are  qualified  to  discharge  the  duties  of 
citizens,  and  are  said  to  be  desirous  of  doing  so,  provided  they 
can  have  secured  to  them  fee-simple  titles  to  reasonable  portions 
of  their  lands.  Others  would  be  willing  to  remove  with  the 
tribe  beyond  the  Mississippi  if  they  could  receive  lands  in  the 
same  way,  so  that  they  might  be  enabled  to  sell  them  for  their 
value,  either  to  individuals  or  to  the  United  States.  They  are 
now,  or  soon  will  be,  convinced  that  their  love  of  power  cannot 
be  gratified  if  the  tribe  remains  in  its  present  situation.  If, 
therefore,  their  cupidity  can  be  satisfied,  the  chief  difficulty  to 
its  removal  will  be  overcome.  The  other  class  of  Cherokees  are 
composed  of  the  unmixed,  aboriginal  people,  deprived  of  their 
former  pride  of  character  and  love  of  enterprise,  debased  into 
slavish  dependence  upon  their  wealthy  chiefs,  and  corrupted  by 
the  degrading  vices  which  they  have  contracted  from  their  inter- 
course with  vicious  white  men.  This  entire  class  would  will- 
ingly remove  to  the  country  prepared  for  the  tribe  by  the  Unit- 
ed States  upon  the  terms  which  are  now  offered,  if  the  consent 
of  their  principal  men  could  be  obtained.  The  President  can- 
not offer  to  the  principal  men  reserves  with  fee-simple  titles,  as 
the  fee  belongs  to  the  State.  For  the  purpose,  therefore,  of 
placing  at  the  control  of  the  President  the  means  which  are  be- 
lieved to  be  most  efficient  in  making  a treaty  with  the  Chero- 
kees, permit  me  to  recommend  that  you  pass  resolutions  autho- 
rizing the  President  to  make  such  reserves  as  has  been  done  in 
former  treaties,  conditioned  that  the  United  States  pay  to  the 
State  their  value.  This  is  due  to  the  Indians  who  understand 
the  peculiar  advantages  which  their  country  presents  for  acquir- 
ing wealth,  and  how  to  use  them  for  their  own  benefit.  It  will 
aid  the  President  in  his  efforts  to  remove  the  Indians,  and 
if  successful,  will  be  of  incalculable  advantage  to  the  State 
24 


370 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


in  relieving  it  from  its  embarrassing  relations  with  the  Che- 
rokees. 

Permit  me  to  avail  myself  of  this  occasion  to  suggest  to  tlie 
Legislature  the  expediency  of  not  interfering  with  the  right  of 
the  Cherokees  to  occupy  their  territory  for  the  present,  as  the 
policy  best  calculated  to  obtain  their  peaceable  removal. 

George  R.  Gilmer. 


Executive  Department,  Milledgeville,  18 th  January,  1831. 

Sir, — Your  letter  of  the  12th  of  November  last  was  duly 
received,  in  which  you  suggested  the  importance  to  the  success 
of  future  negotiations  with  the  Cherokees  for  the  relinquishment 
of  the  lands  occupied  by  them,  that  the  State  of  Georgia  should 
authorize  the  President  to  grant  fee-simple  reservations  to  their 
principal  men,  upon  condition  of  the  United  States  paying  to  the 
State  a reasonable  price  therefor. 

An  extract  from  your  letter  containing  this  suggestion  was 
laid  before  the  Legislature  during  its  late  session.  It  was  not 
acted  on,  because  at  that  time,  and  until  very  near  the  termina- 
tion of  the  session,  a bill  was  pending,  the  object  of  which  was 
to  dispose  of  all  the  lands  within  the  State  in  the  occupancy  of 
the  Cherokees,  in  such  manner  as  would,  if  it  had  passed,  have 
made  the  consideration  of  your  proposition  entirely  unnecessary. 
After  that  bill  became  a law,  although  it  passed  in  a different 
form  from  that  which  was  originally  proposed,  yet  it  was  found 
difficult  amid  the  hurried  proceedings  of  the  close  of  the  session, 
to  procure  the  united  consent  of  the  members  of  the  Legislature 
to  the  particular  conditions  upon  which  such  reservations  should 
be  made.  No  resolutions  whatever  were,  therefore,  introduced 
upon  the  subject,  and  especially  as  the  Legislature  had,  at  two 
former  sessions  (1826  and  1827)  granted  to  the  President  the 
authority  asked  for.  Copies  of  these  resolutions  are  sent  you. 

The  people  of  the  State,  and  its  constituted  authorities,  have 
entire  confidence  that  the  President,  in  contracting  with  the 
Cherokees  for  their  removal  from  Georgia,  will  use  no  means 
adverse  to  the  interest  of  the  State,  or  which  may  not  be  neces- 
sary for  the  accomplishment  of  that  object. 

Humanity  to  the  Indians,  the  maintenance  of  the  rights  of 
the  State,  and  the  preservation  of  the  Union,  require  that  every 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


371 


exertion  should  be  made  to  put  a speedy  termination  to  the  In- 
dian question.  The  spirit  which  has  manifested  itself  in  Con- 
gress, and  among  the  people  of  some  of  the  States  in  opposition 
to  the  measures  pursued  by  the  President  to  execute  the  con- 
tract of  the  United  States  with  Georgia  for  the  removal  of  the 
Cherokees,  and  the  improvement  of  their  condition,  has  pro- 
duced the  most  serious  alarm,  lest  the  strength  of  the  Constitu- 
tion and  our  free  institutions  may  not  be  able  to  resist  the 
machinations  of  party  fraud  and  violence. 

From  information  received  from  various  sources,  there  is  but 
little  prospect  of  procuring  the  immediate  consent  of  the  Che- 
rokees to  remove  beyond  the  Mississippi.  The  leaders  of  the 
opposition  have  been  completely  successful  in  producing  the  be- 
lief among  their  influential  men,  that  the  Supreme  Court  will 
make  a foreign  and  independent  nation  of  their  pibe,  and  thereby 
exempt  the  Indian  people  from  the  laws  of  Georgia.  Until  they 
are  convinced  that  this  is  a mistake,  it  will  be  useless  to  treat 
with  them.  If  the  Supreme  Court  should  fail  to  make  its  de- 
cisions correspond  with  the  designs  of  those  opposed  to  the  Gov- 
ernment. my  information  is,  that  the  Cherokees  will  at  once 
agree  to  relinquish  their  right  of  occupancy,  and  remove  from 
the  State. 

Very  respectfully,  yours,  &c., 

George  R.  Gilmer. 

Hod.  John  H.  Eaton. 

The  law  which  was  passed  for  the  protection  of  the 
gold  mines,  directed  the  Governor  to  take  possession 
of  them  without  placing  at  his  command  any  adequate 
means  for  obeying  its  injunctions. 

I communicated  to  the  Legislature  upon  that  sub- 
ject as  follows : 


Executive  Department,  Milledgeville,  Uh  Dec.,  1830. 

The  United  States  troops  having  been  withdrawn  from  the 
Cherokee  territory,  it  is  expected  that  numerous  persons  will  be 
again  tempted  into  the  gold  regions.  The  law  which  has  been 
passed  for  the  protection  of  the  gold  mines  requires  the  Governor 
to  take  possession  of  them,  without  prescribing  the  means  to  be 


372 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


used,  or  placing  any  at  his  control  for  that  purpose,  Although 
I am  authorized  to  use  military  force  to  defend  the  mines,  it 
■will  be  in  vain  to  attempt  to  do  so,  until  that  part  of  the  law 
which  makes  the  digging  of  gold  a crime  goes  into  operation. 

Permit  me,  therefore,  to  ask  of  the  Legislature  that  it  will 
devise  some  effectual  and  immediate  means  for  the  protection  of 
this  public  property.  Even  after  the  taking  of  gold  shall  have 
become  a highly  penal  offence,  the  law  will  be  continually  vio- 
lated, if  no  other  means  of  prevention  are  provided  than  what  arc 
pointed  out  in  the  law  which  has  been  passed.  I would,  there- 
fore, respectfully  recommend  to  the  Legislature,  either  to  organ- 
ize an  efficient  guard  to  be  stationed  at  the  mines,  or  to  place 
all  the  mines  in  the  possession  of  individuals,  under  such  con- 
tracts as  may  induce  their  occupation. 

George  R.  Gilmer. 

The  case  of  the  Indian,  Tassels,  who  committed  a 
murder  within  that  part  of  the  Cherokee  territory 
which  had  keen  added  to  Hall  County,  for  the  purpose 
of  giving  jurisdiction  to  the  courts  of  the  State  over 
the  Indians  and  the  whites  residing  among  them,  ex- 
cited the  notice  of  the  whole  country,  and  in  some  sec- 
tions violent  abuse  of  the  authorities  of  Georgia.  Tas- 
sels was  arrested,  indicted,  and  tried  with  all  the  cau- 
tion observed  by  our  courts  in  such  cases,  found  guilty, 
and  hung  just  as  if  the  deed  had  been  done  on  the 
eastern  instead  of  the  western  side  of  the  Chattahoochee 
River.  The  judge  before  whom  he  was  tried,  suspended 
passing  sentence  until  he  consulted  the  convention  of 
judges  upon  the  question  which  was  made,  whether  the 
court  had  the  legal  and  constitutional  power  to  try  the 
case.  The  judges  in  convention  decided  unanimously 
that  the  power  belonged  to  the  court. 

All  that  the  Indians  asked  of  the  whites  when  Tas- 
sels was  arrested  was,  that  they  should  be  permitted  to 
put  him  to  death  in  their  own  way. 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


373 


Application  was  made  to  the  Chief  Justice  of  the 
United  States,  on  the  part  of  the  Indians,  to  interpose 
the  authority  of  the  Supreme  Court,  to  prevent  the 
execution  of  the  sentence.  The  Chief  Justice  granted 
a citation  to  the  Governor  of  the  State,  and  to  the 
Sheriff  of  Hall  County,  to  appear  before  the  Supreme 
Court  to  have  the  case  examined  into. 

The  Chief  Justice  knew  when  he  granted  the  writ, 
that  it  was  impossible  for  the  officers  of  his  court  or  the 
Indians  upon  whose  application  it  was  granted,  to  serve 
the  process  upon  the  officers  of  Georgia,  whose  duty  it 
was  to  hang  Tassels.  The  citation  was  sent  through 
the  mail  to  the  Governor.  No  process  reached  the 
Sheriff  of  Hall,  so  that  he  would  have  had  no  excuse  if 
he  had  failed  to  execute  the  judgment  of  the  Court. 
The  whole  proceeding  could  have  had  no  purpose,  ex- 
cept to  excite  doubts  in  the  public  mind  about  the 
propriety  of  the  conduct  of  the  authorities  of  Georgia, 
and  raise  popular  clamor  against  them. 

What  would  have  been  done  if  the  writ  of  error 
granted  by  the  Chief  Justice  had  been  regularly  served, 
may  be  conjectured  from  the  following  message  sent  to 
the  Legislature,  and  the  resolutions  consequent  upon  it. 


Executive  Department,  December  2 2d,  1880. 

I submit  to  the  Legislature  for  its  consideration  the  copy  of 
a communication  received  this  day,  purporting  to  be  signed  by 
the  Chief  Justice  of  the  United  States,  and  to  be  a citation  to 
the  State  of  Georgia  to  appear  before  the  Supreme  Court  on 
the  second  Monday  in  January  next,  to  answer  to  that  tribunal 
for  having  caused  a person,  who  had  committed  murder  within 
the  limits  of  the  State,  to  be  tried  and  convicted  thereof. 

The  object  of  this  mandate  is  to  control  the  State  in  the  ex- 
ercise of  its  ordinary  jurisdiction,  which,  in  criminal  cases,  has 
been  vested  by  its  constitution  exclusively  in  its  Superior  Courts. 


374 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


So  far  as  concerns  the  exercise  of  the  power  which  belongs  to 
the  Executive  Department,  orders  received  from  the  Supreme 
Court  for  the  purpose  of  staying,  or  in  any  manner  interfering 
with  the  decisions  of  the  Courts  of  the  State  in  the  exercise  of 
their  constitutional  jurisdiction,  will  be  disregarded ; and  any 
attempt  to  enforce  such  orders,  will  he  resisted  with  whatever 
force  the  laws  have  placed  at  my  command. 

If  the  judicial  power  thus  attempted  to  he  exercised  by  the 
Courts  of  the  United  States,  is  submitted  to  or  sustained,  it  must 
eventuate  in  the  utter  annihilation  of  the  State  governments,  or 
in  other  consequences  not  less  fatal  to  the  peace  and  prosperity 
of  our  present  highly  favored  country. 

George  R.  Gilmer. 

Resolved !,  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of  the 
State  of  Georgia,  in  General  Assembly  met,  That  they  view  with 
feelings  of  deep  regret,  the  interference  by  the  Chief  Justice  of 
the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  in  the  administration 
of  the  criminal  laws  of  this  State,  and  that  such  an  interference 
is  a flagrant  violation  of  her  rights. 

Resolved  farther,  That  his  Excellency  the  Governor  he,  and 
he,  and  every  other  officer  of  this  State  is  hereby  requested  and 
enjoined,  to  disregard  any  and  every  mandate  and  process  that 
has  been,  or  shall  be  served  upon  him  or  them,  purporting  to 
proceed  from  the  Chief  Justice  or  any  Associate  Justice,  or  the 
Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  for  the  purpose  of  arrest- 
ing the  execution  of  any  of  the  criminal  hrws  of  this  State. 

And  he  it  farther  resolved,  That  his  Excellency  the  Gover- 
nor he,  and  he  is  hereby  authorized  and  required,  with  all  the 
force  and  means  placed  at  his  command  by  the  Constitution  and 
laws  of  this  State,  to  resist  and  repel  any  and  every  invasion, 
from  whatever  quarter,  upon  the  administration  of  the  criminal 
laws  of  this  State. 

Resolved , That  the  State  of  Georgia  will  never  so  far  com- 
promit  her  sovereignty  as  an  independent  State,  as  to  become  a 
party  to  the  case  sought  to  be  made  before  the  Supreme  Court 
of  the  United  States,  by  the  writ  in  question. 

Resolved,  That  his  Excellency  the  Governor  be,  and  he  is 
hereby  authorized,  to  communicate  to  the  Sheriff  of  Hall  County, 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


375 


by  express,  so  much  of  the  foregoing  resolutions,  and  such  orders 
as  are  necessary  to  insure  the  full  execution  of  the  laws  in  the 
case  of  George  Tassels,  convicted  of  murder,  in  Hall  County. 

The  Senate  concurred  with  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives in  the  passage  of  the  foregoing  preamble  and 
resolutions. 

Whilst  I was  stationed  among  the  Indians,  in  1814, 
in  command  of  a detatchment  of  United  States  troops, 
I became  acquainted  with  a white  man  by  the  name  of 
Rogers,  whose  wife  was  a half-breed  Cherokee  woman. 
He  was  an  active,  sensible,  thriving  man,  and  his  sons 
promising  young  men.  William  was  afterwards  Clerk 
to  the  Cherokee  Council,  and  to  the  Delegation  sent 
by  the  tribe  to  Washington  City.  When  the  State 
extended  its  jurisdiction  over  the  Cherokee  territory,  I 
wrote  the  following'  letter  to  Rogers.  The  free  and 
familiar  expression  of  my  feelings  and  opinions  about 
the  Cherokees,  the  policy  which  was  best  for  them  to 
pursue,  and  the  account  of  passing  events  which  this  letter 
gives,  does  better  what  is  one  of  the  purposes  of  writing 
this  book  than  any  account  which  I might  write  now. 


Executive  Department,  Milledgeville , March  10 111,  1831. 

My  Dear  Sir, — I wish  it  had  been  possible  for  }rou  so  to 
have  complied  with  the  laws  of  the  State,  in  relation  to  the 
Cherokee  territory,  as  to  have  avoided  any  embarrassment  to 
yourself  and  family,  and  all  danger  of  loss  of  property.  I have 
always  had  great  respect  for  your  character,  as  an  honest  man, 
and  was  chiefly  induced  to  recommend  the  Legislature  to  permit 
white  men  to  continue  their  residence  among  the  Cherokees,  by 
my  knowledge  of  yourself  and  family.  I sincerely  regret  that 
my  object  should  have  been  defeated,  by  the  construction  which 
you  have  put  upon  the  obligation  which  you  suppose  you  would 
incur  by  taking  the  oath  required  by  the  law.  I am  exceedingly 
anxious  that  the  present  disturbed  and  unsettled  state  of  our 


376 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


Indian  population  should  be  quieted  as  early  as  possible.  My 
desire  is  that  the  State  should  act  justly  and  humanely  towards 
you  and  those  with  whom  you  are  connected.  To  do  this  will  he 
extremely  difficult,  so  long  as  the  present  opposition  is  continued 
to  the  Government  of  the  State,  and  those  of  your  people  who 
are  industrious,  intelligent,  and  honest,  are  mingled  with  the 
mass  of  the  Aborigines.  However  well  fitted  many  of  the 
whites,  half-breeds,  and  their  children  may  be  for  the  support 
and  preservation  of  an  orderly  and  well-conducted  Government, 
the  Indians  are  not  so,  and  never  will  be  until  their  present 
situation  is  changed.  I am  fully  convinced,  that  the  happiness 
of  every  Indian  will  be  advanced  by  the  removal  of  the  tribe 
beyond  the  limits  of  the  State.  I am  also  convinced,  that  the 
sooner  this  can  he  done,  the  greater  will  be  the  advantage  which 
the  Cherokees  will  derive  from  it.  I am  in  the  situation  which 
enables  me  to  form  more  correct  opinions  of  the  probable  future 
course  of  the  legislation  of  the  State,  than  your  people  are.  I 
have  incurred  a great  deal  of  ill-will  from  our  own  citizens,  by 
my  determined  opposition  to  the  passage  of  laws  which  would 
have  oppressed  you.  I claim  the  right,  therefore,  of  being 
listened  to  as  a friend,  whose  intention  is  to  serve  his  country, 
and  all  classes  of  its  population  faithfully.  You  are  perhaps 
aware,  that  but  for  a provision  inserted  in  the  law  of  the  last 
session,  in  its  last  stage,  the  Cherokees  would  have  been  deprived 
of  the  whole  of  their  territory  without  any  equivalent  or  pay  for 
it : You,  and  all  others,  therefore,  who  wish  to  secure  for  your- 
selves reserves  or  compensation  for  your  improvements  and  the 
right  of  occupation,  ought  to  be  convinced,  that  by  resisting  the 
offers  of  the  United  States  Government  to  give  you  lands  to  the 
west  of  the  Mississippi  for  your  present  possessions,  and  reserves 
to  those  who  may  have  made  actual  improvements,  or  desire  to  , 
remain  where  you  are,  and  become  citizens  of  the  State,  are 
essentially  injuring  yourselves.  I tell  you  what  I know  to  be 
true,  that  every  act  of  opposition  on  the  part  of  the  Cherokees  to 
the  exercise  of  the  jurisdiction  of  the  State,  or  the  policy  of  the 
General  Government,  but  renders  their  removal  more  certain, 
and  with  less  regard  to  their  feelings  and  interests.  All  hopes 
of  resisting  the  Government  of  Georgia  through  Congress,  the 
Supreme  Court,  or  the  President,  are  now  at  an  end.  The  Choctaw 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


377 


Treaty  has  been  ratified  by  the  Senate  by  a vote  of  33  to  12, 
and  the  appropriation  to  carry  it  into  effect  made  by  both  Houses 
by  large  majorities.  Congress  has  refused  to  order  your  an- 
nuities to  be  paid  to  the  tribe,  instead  of  to  individuals,  as  the 
President  bad  directed.  The  President  lias  sent  a message  to 
the  Senate,  stating  that  be  lias  no  right  to  interfere  with  the 
legislation  of  Georgia,  or  to  enforce  the  non-intercourse  law, 
since  the  State  has  extended  her  laws  over  the  Cherokees  within 
its  limits.  I know  how  much  your  people  have  been  deceived 
in  the  protection  you  have  sought  from  the  Supreme  Court.  You 
have  thrown  your  money  to  the  winds  ; for  not  the  slightest  re- 
spect will  be  paid  by  the  authorities  of  the  State  to  the  orders 
of  the  Court,  if  its  decisions  should  be  different  from  what  I am 
almost  sure  it  will  be.  What  then  does  duty  to  yourselves  re- 
quire, under  such  circumstances  7 Surely  to  acquiesce  in  the 
necessity,  Avhich  no  exertion  can  overcome,  and  to  attempt  which 
would  be  inevitable  ruin.  The  sooner,  the  more  certainly  will 
you  be  able  to  make  a contract  with  the  United  States  satisfac- 
tory to  all  parties.  Many  of  the  respectable  white  men  and 
half-breeds  who  have  families,  are  desirous  of  remaining  in  the 
country,  and  of  becoming  citizens  of  the  State,  rather  than  re- 
move to  Arkansas.  I believe  3rou  are  mistaken.  However  re- 
spectable, industrious,  and  intelligent  your  children  may  be, 
they  never  can  associate  upon  an  equality  with  our  people. 
Many  individuals  among  us  may  be  free  from  prejudices  against 
the  Indian  people,  but  it  will  be  long  before  our  society  will 
become  so.  I believe  you  to  be  an  excellent  citizen.  I have 
heard  the  most  favorable  accounts  of  your  two  oldest  sons,  for 
whom  I have  an  affectionate  remembrance.  Yet,  my  advice  to 
you,  and  to  them,  is  to  accompany  the  Cherokee  people  in  their 
move.  You  can  be  more  useful,  and  consequently  happier,  with 
them  than  with  us.  You  will  find  that  many  of  those  who  have 
been  most  active  in  effecting  your  removal,  will  be  your  surest 
friends  in  securing  to  you  an  independent  Government,  and 
every  other  advantage  tending  to  the  improvement  and  happi- 
ness of  your  people. 

Cherokees  are  naturally  jealous  of  what  comes  from  Georgia. 
Dr.  Reese  of  Jasper  County,  a member  of  our  Legislature,  is, 
hoAvever,  a cousin  of  Boudinot,  Adairs,  and  others  among  them, 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


378 

and  they  know  he  will  not  deceive  them.  Let  them  consult  him 
as  to  the  course  they  ought  to  pursue.  If  your  son  William  will 
visit  me.  he  shall  he  treated  with  kindness,  and  I will  give  him 
all  the  information  in  my  possession  which  may  enable  you  to 
determine  what  may  he  the  best  course  for  you  to  pursue. 

I shall  regret  very  much  to  see  injustice  done  to  the  Chero- 
kees,  and  so  far  as  I can,  will  prevent  it.  I am  bound,  however, 
to  defend  the  rights  of  the  State,  and  cannot  but  hope  that  the 
time  will  soon  arrive,  when,  in  doing  so,  I shall  meet  with  no 
opposition  from  our  Indian  people'. 

Your  friend, 

George  R.  Gilmer. 

Mr.  John  Rogehs. 


Shortly  after  the  execution  of  Tassels,  I received  a 
notification  from  John  Ross,  the  Cherokee  Chief,  that 
his  people  were  about  to  apply  to  the  Supreme  Court 
of  the  United  States,  for  an  injunction  to  restrain  the 
State  of  Georgia  from  exercising  jurisdiction  over  the 
Cherokee  territory,  accompanied  by  a printed  paper, 
without  signature,  purporting  to  be  a bill  in  equity, 
brought  bv  the  Cherokee  nation,  against  the  State  of 
Georgia.  The  case  thus  made  was,  however,  dismissed 
by  the  Supreme  Court,  its  only  purpose  seeming  to  lie, 
to  give  to  the  opponents  of  the  Administration  an 
elevated  stand  from  which  they  might  be  heard  by  the 
people  in  their  denunciations.  The  Court,  in  pronoun- 
cing its  decision,  instead  of  confining  itself  to  the  ex- 
amination of  the  question,  whether  the  Cherokees  were 
a foreign  nation,  and  capable  of  suing  the  State  of 
Georgia,  made  a statement  wholly  irrelevant,  without 
proof,  and  contrary  to  the  truth.  The  following  ex- 
tracts from  a message  to  the  Legislature  may  aid  others 
in  understanding  this  matter. 

The  Court  affirms,  that  no  case  could  be  better  calculated  ■ 
to  excite  its  sympathy  than  the  conduct  of  Georgia  to  the  Chero- 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


379 


kees  : That  they  have  been  continually  deprived  of  their  lands, 
until  they  at  present  retain  no  more  than  what  is  necessary  for 
their  comfortable  subsistence  : That  they  form  a State  capable  of 
governing  themselves  : That  the  acts  of  the  Government  recog- 
nize them  to  be  a State,  and  that  the  Courts  are  bound  by  those 
acts  : That  they  have  the  unquestionable,  and  hitherto  unques- 
tioned right  to  the  lands  which  they  occupy ; and  intimate  to 
them  that  it  will  redress  their  wrongs  when  the  application  is 
made  in  proper  form. 

What  wrong  has  Georgia  done  to  its  Indian  people  to  call 
for  this  extraordinary  sympathy  of  the  Court  ? They  are  in 
the  peaceable  possession  of  their  occupant  rights.  Intruders 
have  been  removed  from  among  them  by  severe  penal  laws. 
None  of  the  burdens  of  Government  have  been  imposed  upon 
them.  Instead  of  being  reduced  to  a remnant  of  land  not  more 
than  sufficient  for  their  comfortable  subsistence,  they  are  in  the 
possession  of  near  five  millions  of  acres  in  this  State  alone,  of 
which  the  Aboriirines  do  not  cultivate  more  than  five  thousand. 

o 

They  are  indeed  becoming  more  and  more  destitute.  Not,  how- 
ever, from  want  of  land,  but  because  their  situation  is  unsuitable 
for  the  improvement  and  happiness  of  our  Indian  people. 

Is  it  true  that  the  Cherokees  have  an  unquestionable  and 
hitherto  unquestioned  right  to  the  lands  which  they  occupy  ? 
These  lands  form  portions  of  the  territory  of  the  States  of  North 
Carolina,  Tennessee,  Alabama,  and  Georgia.  That  portion 
which  is  in  Tennessee  was  ceded  by  North  Carolina  to  the 
United  States,  upon  the  express  condition  that  it  should  form  a 
common  fund  for  the  benefit  of  the  Union,  and  be  applied  to  the 
payment  of  the  public  debt.  That  portion  ■which  is  in  Alabama 
was  sold  to  the  United  States  by  this  State  for  a valuable  con- 
sideration, and  before  any  attempt  had  been  made  to  extinguish 
the  title  of  the  Indians,  or  to  exercise  jurisdiction  over  them. 
In  consequence  of  which  sale,  it  was  made  a condition  of  the 
admission  of  the  State  of  Alabama  into  the  Union,  that  it  should 
disclaim  all  title  to  the  Indian  lands  within  its  limits,  the  United 
States  declaring  by  law  that  it  had  the  sole  and  exclusive  power 
to  dispose  of  them.  The  United  States  has  acknowledged  that 
this  State  has  both  the  right  of  soil  and  jurisdiction  over  that 
portion  which  is  within  its  limits. 


380 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


It  is  difficult  to  conceive  of  any  proposition  tending  to  more 
absurd  consequences  than  that  laid  down  by  the  Court,  that  any 
Indian  tribe  with  which  the  United  States  forms  contracts  to 
which  the  term  Treaty  may  be  affixed,  becomes  a nation  capable 
of  governing  itself,  and  entitled  to  the  recognition  of  the  courts, 
as  states.  It  would  bring  into  being  hundreds  of  states  utterly 
incapable  of  self-defence,  or  exercising  one  attribute  of  national 
sovereignty.  If  the  opinion  of  the  courts  be  correct,  then  all  the 
territory  which  was  acquired  by  the  original  thirteen  Provin- 
cial Governments,  of  various  Indian  tribes,  is  yet  the  property 
of  the  Aborigines,  because  the  treaties  by  which  it  was  obtained 
were  invalid,  not  having  been  made  by  the  King  of  Great 
Britain,  who  alone  had  the  power  of  entering  into  national 
compacts. 

Another  difficulty,  equally  embarrassing,  would  arise  out  of 
our  relations  with  the  Cherokees  themselves.  A few  years  ago 
the  United  States  removed  a portion  of  that  tribe  to  the  west 
of  the  Mississippi,  placed  them  upon  the  public  land,  and  have 
since  made  several  treaties  with  them.  Which  is  now  the 
Cherokee  nation,  the  Indians  who  reside  on  the  lands  of  the 
United  States,  or  those  within  Georgia?  But  whatever  obliga- 
tions the  United  States  may  have  incurred  by  its  contracts  with 
the  Cherokees,  it  has  no  constitutional  authority  to  limit,  or  in 
any  manner  alter  the  territorial  rights  which  belonged  to  this 
State  when  it  became  a member  of  the  Union. 

Upon  no  subject  has  there  been  more  misrepresentation  than 
in  relation  to  the  government  of  the  Cherokees,  and  the  civiliza- 
tion of  the  people  of  that  tribe.  Upon  examination,  it  will  be 
found  that  the  Aboriginal  people  are  as  ignorant,  thoughtless, 
and  improvident,  as  formerly  ; without  any  of  the  spirit  and 
character  which  distinguished  them  when  war  was  their  employ- 
ment, and  their  support  derived  from  the  forest : that  none  of 
them  in  this  State,  with  the  exception  of  one  family,  have  ac- 
quired property,  or  been  at  all  benefited  by  the  improvements 
which  have  been  made  by  others  among  them  : that  the  chief, 
the  president  of  the  council,  the  judges,  marshal  and  sheriffs, 
and  most  other  persons  concerned  in  the  administration  of  the 
Government,  are  the  descendants  of  Europeans,  and  many  of 
them  citizens  of  this  and  the  adjoining  States  ; and  that  the 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


381 


Indians,  instead  of  living  under  their  own  simple  usages  and 
customs,  have  been  compelled  to  submit  to  a system  of  laws  and 
police  wholly  unsuited  to  their  condition. 

After  the  passage  of  the  law  for  removing  white 
persons  from  the  Cherokee  territory  who  had  no  license 
to  remain,  and  for  extending  jurisdiction  over  the 
Cherokee  territory,  the  missionaries  and  their  assistants, 
to  the  number  of  twelve,  held  a public  meeting  in  the 
Indian  country,  where  they  passed  resolutions,  calling 
upon  the  people  of  the  United  States  to  take  part  with 
the  Indians  in  resisting  the  laws  of  Georgia,  and  de- 
claring that  they  considered  the  removal  of  the  Che- 
rokees  to  the  west  of  the  Mississippi,  an  event  most 
earnestly  to  be  deprecated.  I mention  this  fact,  to 
show  the  spirit  which  directed  the  conduct  of  the  mis- 
sionaries who  resided  among  the  Indians,  and  to 
justify  the  course  pursued  by  the  authorities  of  tbe 
State  in  removing1  them. 

I found  it  impossible  to  protect  the  Indian  country 
from  intruders,  and  the  gold  mines  from  trespassers,  by 
the  means  provided  by  the  laws.  I asked  the  Legisla- 
ture for  the  authority  to  form  a guard  to  execute  that 
duty.  It  was  granted.  The  guard-  was  authorized  to 
arrest  any  person  guilty  of  the  violation  of  the  laws  of 
the  State  in  the  Cherokee  territory.  It  consisted  of 
forty  men,  under  efficient  officers,’  and  was  stationed 
among  the  Indians  near  the  gold  mines. 

I addressed  letters  to  every  white  man  of  any  in- 
fluence who  lived  among  the  Indians,  whose  name  and 
residence  was  known,  especially  to  every  religious  mis- 
sionary, urging  them  to  take  the  oath  to  obey  the  Con- 
stitution and  laws  of  the  State,  and  take  licenses,  to  re- 
main in  the  State.  I also  caused  one  hundred  copies 


382 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


of  the  laws  in  relation  to  the  Cherokee  country  and 
people,  to  be  distributed  among  them,  so  that  no  one 
might  lie  punished  for  offences  ignorantly  committed. 

Two  hundred  and  three  white  men  took  the  re- 
quired oath,  and  were  licensed  to  remain  among  the 
Cherokees.  Some  removed,  and  others  were  arrested. 

The  guard  found  great  difficulty  in  preventing  tres- 
passers upon  the  gold  mines.  The  frontier  people  of 
the  State,  who  had  been  engaged  in  mining  before  the 
passage  of  the  law  making  it  penal  to  do  so,  were 
greatly  irritated  by  the  clause  Avhich  excluded  them 
from  any  participation  in  the  distribution  of  the  public 
lands.  The  people  of  the  adjoining  States,  were  in  a 
hurry  to  get  what  gold  they  could,  before  the  lands 
were  appropriated. 

Soon  after  the  guard  entered  the  mining  districts, 
a number  of  persons  were  made  prisoners  for  taking 
gold  contrary  to  law,  and  marched  off  to  the  nearest 
judicial  officer  for  commitment.  A large  body  of  tres- 
passers followed  them  for  the  purpose  of  rescuing  their 
arrested  associates.  They  attacked  the  guard.  One 
of  the  attacking  party  was  wounded.  The  guard  was 
at  the  time  under  the  command  of  Col.  Nelson,  a brave 
but  violent  man.  I wrote  the  following  letter  upon 
the  subject  to  Gen.  Sanford : 


Executive  Department,  Milledgeville,  21th  Jan.,  1S31. 

Dear  Sir. — I am  well  aware  of  the  difficulties  which  you 
have  to  encounter  in  preventing  trespass  upou  the  gold  mines  by 
the  lawless  people  upon  the  frontiers,  although  I had  not  antici- 
pated the  resistance  which  it  appears  you  have  met  with  from 
the  citizens  of  this  State.  I feel  perfectly  confident  that  your 
command  will  succeed  in  protecting  the  public  property.  The 
danger,  toil  and  embarrassment  which  it  may  encounter,  will  but 
add  to  the  honor  of  success,  and  the  extent  of  public  favor  which 
it  will  deserve. 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA.  3C3 

Col.  Nelson  and  tlie  members  of  the  guard  under  his  com- 
mand, have  united  great  prudence  and  spirit  in  the  manner  in 
which  they  have  arrested  the  violaters  of  the  law.  Be  pleased 
to  express  to  Col.  Nelson  my  decided  approbation  of  his  conduct, 
and  the  high  sense  I entertain  of  his  gallantry,  and  to  the  mem- 
bers of  the  guard  under  his  command,  my  thanks  for  the  soldier- 
like manner  in  which,  they  executed  the  orders  of  their  com- 
manding officer,  and  for  the  efficient  service  they  have  rendered 
to  the  State. 

I think  it  highly  probable  that  the  resistance  you  have  met 
with  from  citizens  of  the  State,  has  proceeded  entirely  from 
those  who  are,  by  the  late  law,  deprived  of  a draw  in  the  land 
lottery,  on  account  of  their  previous  trespass  upon  the  mines. 
It  would  be  useful  to  inform  this  class  of  people  that,  as  the  law 
is  yet  subject  to  alterations,  the  only  probable  means  of  restor- 
ing themselves  to  the  right  of  which  they  have  been  deprived, 
will  be  by  aiding  the  guard  in  the  discharge  of  its  duties.  It 
is  important  that  the  guard  should  so  act  as  to  avoid,  if  possible, 
any  confirmed  hostility  on  the  part  of  those  who  are  disposed  to 
see  the  laws  enforced.  I rely  with  full  confidence  upon  your 
judgment  and  prudence  in  discharging  the  duties  of  your  com- 
mand. 

Very  respectfully,  yours,  & c., 

George  R.  Gilmer. 

Col.  John  W.  Sanford. 

The  following  letter  to  an  influential  lawyer  in  the 
Cherokee  country  will  exhibit  some  of  the  obstructions 
which  had  to  be  overcome  in  enforcing  the  jurisdiction 
of  the  State : 

Executive  Department,  Milledgeville,  3 d Feb.,  1831. 

Sir, — Your  letter,  with  an  affidavit  of  Mark  Castlebury 
inclosed,  was  received  last  night.  I had  previously  known  of 
the  reports  put  into  circulation,  as  to  the  conduct  of  the  guard. 
Its  officers  and  men  are  citizens  of  the  State,  and  equally  with 
others  answerable  to  individuals  and  to  the  State,  for  any 
offences  which  they  may  commit.  After  the  taking  of  gold 
from  the  ungranted  lands  of  the  State  was  made  highly  penal 


384 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


by  law,  I believed  that  I would  have  the  assistance  of  every 
good  citizen  in  bringing  to  punishment  those  who  should  tres- 
pass upon  this  public  property.  The  commander  of  the  guard 
was  so  informed.  I regret  exceedingly  to  understand  that  I 
have  been  mistaken,  and  that  the  disposition  has  been  shown 
to  protect  and  rescue  from  prosecution  the  guilty.  I am  aware 
that  much  discontent  prevails  among  those  who  were  engaged 
in  digging  for  gold  previous  to  the  passage  of  the  law  for- 
bidding it,  on  account  of  their  having  been  excluded  by  its 
provisions  from  participating  in  the  benefit  of  the  lottery.  If 
they  expect  to  obtain  compensation  by  continuing  their  employ- 
ment in  defiance  of  its  injunctions,  and  the  means  placed  at 
my  command  to  prevent  it,  they  will  deceive  themselves.  Pun- 
ishment will  at  some  time  or  other  be  the  certain  consequence 
of  such  conduct.  A different  course  may,  and  most  probably 
will,  induce  the  next  Legislature  to  repeal  that  part  of  the  law 
which  excludes  them  from  draws.  In  fact  the  entire  law  is  at 
present  in  abeyance,  except  so  much  as  requires  the  survey  of 
the  lands.  The  lottery  will  not  take  place  until  after  the  next 
session  of  the  Legislature,  even  if  the  Indian  right  of  occupancy 
should  be  purchased  previous  to  that  time.  Though  the  gold 
diggers  may  disregard  the  laws  of  the  State  and  the  danger 
of  punishment,  their  own  interest  ought  to  dictate  to  them  the 
policy  of  aiding  the  Executive  in  preserving  the  gold  mines  from 
intrusion. 

I have  been  informed  that  the  lawless  people  from  other 
States  are  not  only  determined  to  persist  in  taking  gold  if  they 
are  not  prevented  by  force,  but  that  they  are  using  their  influence 
to  excite  the  Cherokees  to  resist  the  jurisdiction  of  the  State. 
Whilst  the  opposition  to  the  President  and  the  administration 
of  the  Government  are  attacking  the  rights  of  Georgia  through 
the  Supreme  Court,  and  by  all  other  means,  with  the  greatest 
energy  and  virulence,  is  it  possible  that  any  citizen,  who 
deserves  to  be  so  called,  can  be  found  aiding  or  giving  coun- 
tenance to  those  who  are  trespassing  upon  its  authority,  vio- 
lating its  laws,  and  defying  its  power  ? The  united  and  deter- 
mined support  of  the  people  can  alone  sustain  the  State  in 
enforcing  its  jurisdiction  over  the  Cherokees,  and  in  exercising 
the  right  of  ownership  over  the  soil  which  they  occupy  within 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


385 


its  limits.  I know  that  many  respectable  persons  were  con- 
cerned in  taking  gold  from  the  Cherokee  territory  previous 
to  the  passage  of  the  late  law.  It  is  very  certain,  however, 
that  a large  part  of  those  from  other  States  who  were  so  em- 
ployed, and  many  from  this,  were  of  the  most  dissolute  and 
abandoned  class  of  society,  and  that  such  persons  cannot  be 
restrained  from  continuing  to  search  for  gold,  notwithstanding 
the  prohibition  by  law,  but  by  force  and  punishment.  Is  it 
therefore  patriotic  to  endeavor  to  excite  the  people  to  enmity 
against  the  guard,  who  are  required  by  their  duty  to  arrest 
and  bring  to  punishment  these  lawless  persons  ? The  guard 
has  other  important  duties  to  perform  besides  the  protection 
of  the  gold  mines.  The  white  men  who  reside  among  the 
Indians,  and  who  have  been  opposing  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
State,  must  be  removed  ; the  Indian  Chiefs  must  be  controlled ; 
and  the  surveyors,  who  are  now  about  commencing  their  work, 
must  be  protected.  Under  such  circumstances,  I cannot  but 
hope  that  it  will  meet  with  support  instead  of  opposition. 

I have  minute  information  as  to  the  affair  at  Leathersford, 
and  it  differs  in  every  respect  from  the  statement  in  Castle- 
bury’s  affidavit.  It  is  not  at  present  so  important  to  inquire 
into  the  accuracy  of  these  different  aocounts,  as  to  unite  the 
people  in  protecting  the  gold  mines.  I have  great  reliance 
upon  your  prudence  and  integrity.  If  any  member  of  the 
guard  has  done  wrong,  I have  no  power  to  punish  him : that 
belongs  to  the  courts.  The  motives  of  those  who  have  urged 
you  to  send  to  me  charges  against  the  guard,  may  have  been 
the  hope  that  it  will  be  withdrawn.  If  they  had  such  an  object 
in  view,  they  have  deceived  themselves.  Increased  vigilance 
and  force  will  be  used,  if  necessary,  for  the  protection  of  the 
mines,  and  to  bring  to  punishment  those  who  trespass  upon 
them. 

Very  respectfully,  yours,  &c. 

George  R.  Gilmer. 

Robert  Mitchell,  Esq. 


This  affray  became  rather  famous  as  the  battle  of 
Leathersford.  I thanked  the  guard  for  its  conduct  by 
25 


386 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


a letter,  written  in  a style  suited  to  the  battle  and  the 
combatants. 

During  my  service  in  Congress,  two  years  after- 
wards, one  of  the  young  ladies  of  the  mess  to  which  my 
wife  and  myself  belonged,  played  Governor  Gilmer’s 
march.  A Scotch  gentleman  who  was  travelling  in 
this  country,  and  passing  the  evening  with  us,  asked  my 
wife  on  what  occasion  the  march  had  been  composed. 
He  was  answered  by  Colonel  Jones,  with  the  quickness 
so  instinctive  with  him,  “The  battle  of  Leathersford  ! ” 

I endeavored  to  procure  the  services  of  the  most 
active  and  intelligent  gentlemen  of  the  counties  which 
bordered  on  the  Cherokee  territory,  to  sustain  the  au- 
thority of  the  State  by  enforcing  the  laws. 

Eyecutive  Department,  Milledgeville,  26tli  Jan.,  1831. 

Sir, — From  the  operation  of  various  causes,  it  is  highly 
probable  that  the  Cherokees  'will  resist  the  enforcement  of 
the  laws  of  the  State.  Obedience  must  be  compelled.  The 
guard  which  has  been  organized  and  stationed  among  them, 
under  the  command  of  excellent  officers,  will  be  a most  efficient 
instrument  for  this  purpose.  It  is  not,  however,  sufficient, 
encouraged  as  the  Cherokees  have  been  by  the  opposition  to 
the  administration  of  the  General  Government,  and  the  late 
proceedings  of  the  Supreme  Court.  Will  the  people  aid  the 
Executive  Department  in  defending  the  honor  and  character, 
and  preserving  unimpaired  the  rights  and  sovereignty  of  Geor- 
gia ? If  so,  let  them  organize  volunteer  companies  in  every 
frontier  county  near  the  Cherokees,  for  the  special  object  of 
compelling  the  Indians  to  submit  to  the  authority  of  the  laws, 
and  of  removing  vicious  and  refractory  white  men  residing 
among  them,  whose  influence  has  been  directed  to  excite  them 
to  disobedience. 

You  are  requested  to  encourage  the  formation  of  a volunteer 
company  in  your  county.  If  one  can  be  raised,  it  is  desirable 
that  it  should  be  done  as  soon  as  possible,  that  organization  and 
discipline  may  be  acquired  before  it  is  called  into  service.  The 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


387 


company  must  be  infantry.  It  is  important,  however,  that  it 
should  he  able  to  act  as  mounted  infantry  if  necessary. 

Very  respectfully,  yours,  &c., 

George  R.  Gilmer. 

Note. — A letter  similar  to  the  above  was  sent  to  the  follow- 
ing gentlemen,  viz. : — William  Ezzard,  and  Maj.  Hines  Holt  of 
De  Kalb,  Col.  Nathan  S.  Hutchins  of  Gwinnett,  Col.  Allen  Flam- 
brough,  Col.  I.  W.  A.  Petit,  and  Col.  Andrew  Moore. 


Executive  Department,  Milledgeville,  4th  Feb.,  1831. 

Sir, — I am  of  the  opinion,  that  the  law  does  not  authorize 
the  granting  of  licenses  to  any  white  person  to  reside  among  the 
Cherokees,  except  those  who  were  residents  at  the  time  of  its  pas- 
sage. The  object  of  the  Legislature  was  not  to  increase  the  num- 
ber of  white  persons  among  the  Cherokees,  but  to  remove  those 
whose  presence  might  be  injurious  to  the  interests  of  the  State. 

The  time  from  the  passage  of  the  law  until  the  first  of  March 
was  allowed  to  the  white  men  residing  among  the  Cherokees  to 
remove,  or  to  comply  with  its  requirements. 

I concur  in  your  opinion,  that  postmasters  in  the  Cherokee 
territory  are  not  the  agents  of  the  United  States,  who  are 
exempted  from  punishment  for  their  residence  among  the  Chero- 
kees after  the  .first  of  March.  If  the  postmasters  think  dif- 
ferently, the  question  can  only  be  determined  by  the  Courts  ; 
and  to  that  tribunal  you  are  directed  to  carry  it,  if  those  post- 
masters to  whom  you  may  not  grant  licenses  may  think  proper 
not  to  remove. 

The  missionaries  who  have  publicly  taken  part  with  the 
Cherokees,  in  opposition  to  the  rights  of  the  State,  must  not  re- 
ceive licenses. 

I am  very  much  gratified  at  the  information  derived  from 
the  expedition  to  the  Sixes.  It  is  very  important  to  keep  the 
Indians  quiet.  Their  rights  should  not  only  be  respected,  but 
protected  with  vigilance  from  violation.  You  are  requested  to 
assure  them,  that  this  is  the  disposition  of  the  State,  and  that 
you  will  arrest  every  white  man  who  may  commit  crimes  affect- 
ing them.  The  State  requires  of  the  Cherokees-  submission  to 
its  authority,  and  is  bound  in  return  to  protect  them. 


3fc8 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


I have  received  complaints  from  the  people  at  Leathersford. 
of  the  conduct  of  the  guard.  I have  no  doubt  but  that  you  are 
correct  in  supposing,  that  those  who  intend  to  violate  the  laws 
will,  if  possible,  excite  opposition  to  the  guard.  This  state  of 
things  increases  the  necessity  of  prudence  in  its  intercourse  with 
the  frontier  people.  It  would,  perhaps,  prevent  collisions,  if  the 
guard  would  keep  within  the  Cherokee  territory  in  their  expedi- 
tions, unless  when  engaged  in  actual  pursuit  of  intruders,  or  in 
making  commitments,  and  attending  to  prosecutions. 

I am  now  satisfied  that  I was  mistaken  in  supposing  that 
you  would  have  the  aid  of  all  the  citizens  of  the  State.  Increased 
vigilance  and  energy  will  therefore  be  necessary.  I send  you  a 
copy  of  the  information  received  in  relation  to  the  guard.  In 
order  to  prevent  enmity  on  the  part  of  its  members  against  those 
who  have  made  these  charges,  I would  suggest  the  propriety  of 
confining  the  knowledge  of  them  to  yourself  and  Col  Nelson. 

Yery  respectfully,  yours,  &c., 

George  It.  Gilmer. 

Gol.  J.  W.  A.  Sanford. 


By  a clause  of  tlie  law,  all  agents  of  the  United 
States  were  exempted  from  its  operation.  The  judge 
of  one  of  the  circuits  which  included  the  Cherokee 
territory,  the  relative  of  Mr.  Wirt,  imagined  that  he 
had  read  somewhere,  that  missionaries  among  the 
Cherokees  were  agents  of  the  Government.  He  dis- 
charged several  missionaries  who  were  brought  before 
him  upon  a writ  of  habeas  corpus , upon  his  own  as- 
sumption that  missionaries  were  agents  of  the  United 
States  Government,  and  therefore  exempt  by  law  from 
arrest.  His  judicial  imaginings  were  not  true.  The 
missionaries  heard  the  plea  made  for  them  by  the  Court, 
knew  that  it  was  not  true,  yet  held  their  tongues,  and 
took  the  benefit  of  the  mistake.  I immediately  wrote 
the  following  letters,  to  the  Secretary  of  War,  and 
Postmaster-General,  sent  their  answers  to  the  guard, 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


389 


and  ordered  the  discharged  persons  to  be  again  ar- 
rested : 


Executive  Depaktment,  Milledgeville,  20th  April,  1831. 

Sir,— By  a law  of  this  State,  all  white  persons,  except 
agents  of  the  United  States,  are  prohibited  from  residing  within 
the  territory  occupied  by  the  Cherokees,  unless  authorized  by 
license  from  the  Governor. 

This  law  resulted  from  the  active  influence  which  that  class 
of  persons  were  exercising  in  opposition  to  the  humane  policy 
of  the  General  Government,  and  the  rights  of  Georgia.  Fugi- 
tives from  justice,  outcasts  from  society,  and  trespassers  upon 
the  gold  mines,  had  an  interest  very  readily  understood  in  pre- 
venting both  the  removal  of  the  Cherokees  beyond  the  Missis- 
sippi, and  the  operation  of  the  laws  upon  themselves.  Some  of 
the  missionaries  who  were  stationed  among  the  Indians  refused 
to  obey.  Individuals  among  them  acted  the  part  of  political 
incendiaries,  misdirected  the  Indians,  misstated  facts,  and  per- 
verted public  opinion,  so  as  to  embarrass  the  Administration  of 
the  General  Government  in  doing  its  duty  to  the  State.  Among 
those  who  have  been  arrested  for  violating  the  laws,  is  a man  by 
the  name  of  John  Thompson,  reported  to  be  a clergyman,  and  a 
missionary  from  some  religious  society  in  the  New  England 
States.  He  was,  upon  his  arrest,  carried  before  one  of  the 
judges  of  the  Superior  Court,  by  writ  of  habeas  corpus,  and 
discharged  upon  the  ground  that  he  was  a missionary,  and  that 
missionaries  were  agents  of  the  United  States,  and  consequently 
not  subject  to  the  penalty  of  the  law  prohibiting  the  residence 
of  white  persons  among  the  Indians.  It  is  not  necessary  to  say 
any  thing  about  the  correctness  of  the  decision.  It  is  due  both 
to  the  United  States  and  Georgia,  that  its  effects  should  be  ob- 
viated. Mr.  Thompson  is  reported  to  have  been  very  active  in 
stirring  up  the  Indians  to  their  attempt  to  sustain  an  Independ- 
ent Government,  and  no  doubt  will  feel  secure  in  continuing  his 
mischievous  exertions,  unless  the  laws  of  the  State  can  have 
their  proper  operation  upon  him.  For  this  purpose,  I must  re- 
quest from  you  an  official  assurance,  that  this  Rev.  John  Thomp- 
son is  not  an  agent  of  the  United  States,  and  that  religious 


FIUST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


missionaries,  as  such,  are  not  agents  of  the  United  States 
Government. 

It  is  very  desirable  that  your  answer  should  be  received  as 
soon  as  possible. 

Very  respectfully,  yours,  &c., 

Gf.orge  R.  Gilmer. 

Honorable  John  II.  Eaton. 


Executive  Department,  Milledgeville,  19 Ih  April,  1831. 

Sir,— At  the  last  session  of  the  Legislature  of  this  State,  a 
law  was  passed,  mahing  it  highly  penal  for  white  persons,  except 
agents  of  the  United  States,  to  continue  their  residence  within 
the  territory  of  the  State  occupied  by  the  Cherokees,  after  the 
first  of  March  then  next  ensuing,  without  taking  the  oath  to 
support  the  Constitution  and  laws  of  the  State,  and  obtaining  a 
license  for  such  residence,  from  the  Governor  or  his  agent.  The 
object  of  this  law  was  to  remove  from  among  the  Cherokees, 
fugitives  from  justice,  trespassers  upon  the  gold  mines,  and  those 
who  under  various  pretences  of  attachment  to  the  Indians,  had 
obtained  lucrative  situations  for  themselves,  and  were  using  their 
influence  in  opposing  the  policy  of  the  General  Government,  and 
the  rights  of  Georgia.  Immediately  after  the  passage  of  the 
law,  means  were  used  for  making  its  provisions  known  to  all  upon 
whom  it  might  operate.  Of  the  number  of  white  persons  who 
were  residents  in  the  State  among  the  Cherokees  (reported  by 
Col.  Montgomery  to  be  300),  250  have  taken  the  required  oath, 
and  received  licenses. 

Two  Presbyterian  clergymen,  Samuel  Worcester  and  John 
Thompson,  who  are  understood  to  have  exercised  extensive  influ- 
ence over  the  Indians,  and  been  very  active  in  exciting  their 
prejudices  against  the  Administration  of  both  the  General  and 
State  Governments,  have  refused  either  to  leave  the  territory 
reserved  to  the  Indians,  or  take  the  oath  required  of  white  per- 
sons. They  have  consequently  been  arrested  in  the  same  man- 
ner as  others  thus  acting.  Worcester  has  been  discharged  by 
the  Superior  Court,  because  he  was  postmaster  at  Echota ; and 
Thompson,  because  it  was  reported  that  he  was  a missionary  ; 
the  Court  deciding  that  postmasters  and  missionaries  were 
agents  of  the  United  States,  and  consequently  exempted  from 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


391 


the  penalties  of  the  law.  It  is  wholly  unnecessary  to  inquire 
into  the  correctness  of  this  decision.  The  General  Government 
will  certainly  not  permit  its  postmasters  to  use  a privilege  aris- 
ing from  their  official  stations,  to  thwart  its  operations,  or  defy 
the  jurisdiction  of  the  State.  The  object  of  this  communication, 
is  to  request  of  you  to  dismiss  Samuel  Worcester  from  the  office 
of  postmaster.  If  you  consider  it  important  to  continue  the 
post-office  at  Echota,  I would  recommend  William  Tarvain,  who 
is  said  to  be  a respectable  white  man,  to  fill  the  place  of  S. 
Worcester.  If  Worcester  is  not  now  removed,  he  will,  without 
doubt,  consider  himself  authorized  to  continue  his  seditious  con- 
duct. No  disposition  is  felt,  in  executing  the  laws  of  the  State, 
to  prevent  the  diffusion  of  the  light  of  knowledge  and  Christian- 
ity, among  the  Indians.  It  is  due  to  the  State,  however,  that 
those  who  under  the  cloak  of  religious  ministry,  teach  discord  to 
our  misguided  Indian  people,  and  opposition  to  rulers,  should  be 
compelled  to  know,  that  obedience  to  the  laws  is  both  a religious 
and  civil  duty. 

I transmit  to  you  for  your  information,  a correspondence  be- 
tween this  Department  and  the  Board  of  Directors  of  the  United 
Brethren’s  Missions,  in  relation  to  one  of  their  missionaries, 
Mr.  Byhan,  who  is  postmaster  at  Spring  Place.  Mr.  Byhan  is 
said  to  be  a respectable  man,  and  I have  no  doubt  will  hereafter, 
under  the  direction  of  the  pious  men  who  employ  him,  confine 
himself  to  his  duty.  I have  no  objection  to  his  continuing  in  his 
present  office,  if  such  should  be  your  desire.  We  ask  only  for 
the  removal  of  political  incendiaries. 

The  Baptist  missionary  has  taken  the  oath,  and  those  em- 
ployed by  the  Methodists  have  removed  from  among  the  Georgia 
Indians. 

A letter  will  be  immediately  addressed  to  the  Secretary  of 
War,  requesting  an  assurance  from  him,  that  religious  mission- 
aries are  not,  as  such,  agents  of  the  United  States,  and  specially 
that  John  Thompson  is  not  its  agent.  Your  early  attention  to 
this  subject  is  requested. 

Y ery  respectfully,  yours,  Ac., 

George  R.  Gilmer. 


Hon.  William  T.  Bap.ry. 


392 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


Executive  Department,  Milledgeville,  13 th  April,  1831. 

Gentlemen, — Your  letter  of  the  30th  ult.  upon  the  subject 
of  the  missionary  employed  by  the  Board  of  Directors  of  the 
United  Brethren’s  Missions  among  the  Cherokee  Indians  resid- 
ing in  Georgia,  has  been  received. 

I have  the  highest  respect  for  the  general  character  of  the 
United  Brethren,  and  entire  confidence  that  their  Board  of 
Missions  have,  in  its  efforts  to  improve  and  christianize  the 
heathen  and  savage  Aborigines  of  our  country,  been  directed  by 
the  most  pious  and  benevolent  motives.  I regret  that  your  mis- 
sionaries should  have  found  any  difficulty  in  complying  with  the 
requirements  of  the  laws  of  the  State.  The  principal  object  of 
these  laws  has  been  to  remove  from  the  Cherokees  white  men 
of  bad  character,  and  those  who,  from  mistaken  views  of  the 
rights  and  powers  of  the  State,  have  been  engaged  in  exciting 
the  Indians  to  sedition,  and  opposition  to  the  policy  of  the  Gov- 
ernment. The  guard  which  has  been  stationed  among  the  Cher- 
okees, to  protect  the  public  property  from  trespass,  and  to  arrest 
violators  of  the  law,  has  been  directed  specially  to  bring  to  trial, 
every  white  man,  who  in  any  manner  commits  an  injury  upon 
our  Cherokee  population  ; and  it  is  a source  of  high  satisfaction 
to  believe,  that  under  the  present  administration  of  the  laws  of 
the  State,  the  rights  of  liberty,  personal  security,  and  private 
property,  belonging  to  the  Indians,  are  far  better  protected  than 
they  have  been  heretofore. 

According  to  your  request,  and  in  full  confidence  that  your 
missionaries  will  conform  to  your  directions,  the  commanding 
officer  of  the  guard  will  be  directed  to  wait  with  them,  until  they 
can  conveniently  remove  from  the  State,  or  take  the  oath  requir- 
ed by  law. 

I cannot  close  this  letter  without  expressing  the  fullest  con- 
viction, that  the  removal  of  the  Cherokees  to  the  west  of  the 
Mississippi  will  result  to  their  advantage,  and  the  hope  that  such 
removal,  instead  of  embarrassing  the  efforts  of  Christians  in  com- 
municating to  them  the  light  and  saving  influences  of  the  gospel, 
will  prove  the  efficient  means  of  obtaining  for  them  the  most 
satisfactory  success. 

Very  respectfully,  yours,  &c., 

George  R.  Gilmer. 

To  the  Board  of  Directors  of  the  United 
Brethren’s  Missions. 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


393 


The  above  letter  is  the  first  written  to  the  mission- 
aries who  were  residing  among  the  Cherokees.  As  the 
treatment  of  this  class  of  men  for  continuing  to  reside 
among  the  Indians,  in  opposition  to  the  laws  of  the 
State,  produced  great  excitement  against  its  authorities, 
I have  inserted  it  with  much  satisfaction ; because  it 
shows  that  all  who  evinced  no  determination  to  dis- 
regard the  laws,  were  treated  with  due  consideration 
and  kindness. 

Executive  Department,  Milledgeville,  14 th  May,  1831. 

Sir, — I inclose  to  you  tlie  copy  of  the  answer  of  the  Secre- 
tary of  War  to  a letter  of  mine,  upon  the  subject  of  the  mission- 
aries residing  among  the  Cherokees,  by  which  you  will  perceive 
that  none  of  them  are  really  the  agents  of  the  United  States, 
although  the  Moravian  and  Baptist  missionaries  receive  a por- 
tion of  their  support  from  the  fund  appropriated  for  the  civiliza- 
tion of  the  Indians.  As,  however,  the  expressions  of  the  Secre- 
tary of  W ar  leave  it  doubtful,  whether  he  does  not  consider  the 
Moravian  missionary  at  Spring  Place  and  Oachgalogy  under 
the  superintendence  of  Gilbert  Byhan,  and  the  Baptist  mission- 
aries at  Valley  Town  and  Notley,  under  the  superintendence  of 
Evans  Jones,  as  agents  of  the  Government ; you  will,  for  the 
present,  consider  them  such,  taking  care  to  report  to  this  depart- 
ment any  opposition  which  may  he  made  to  the  laws  of  the  State, 
or  the  policy  of  the  United  States,  by  any  white  person  connect- 
ed with  those  establishments.  The  missionaries  of  other  Chris- 
tian denominations,  who  may  be  found  within  the  territory  ap- 
propriated to  the  occupancy  of  the  Cherokees,  without  having 
taken  the  required  oath,  you  are  directed  not  to  recognize  as 
agents  of  the  United  States. 

Since  writing  the  above,  I have  received  from  the  Post- 
master-General a letter,  of  which  the  inclosed  is  a copy,  by 
which  you  will  perceive  that  Samuel  Worcester  is  no  longer 
protected  by  his  office  of  postmaster  in  his  seditious  conduct 
among  the  Indians. 

I inclose  to  you  unsealed  letters  to  S.  Worcester,  Thompson, 
and  other  missionaries,  which  after  reading  you  will  cause  to  be 


394 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


delivered  to  them.  If  after  receiving  notice  to  leave  the  State, 
they  should  continue  their  refractory  conduct,  you  will  cause 
them  to  be  arrested,  and  turned  over  to  the  civil  authorities  for 
punishment.  If  they  show  no  disposition  to  mislead  the  Indians 
or  oppose  the  policy  of  the  Government,  treat  them  with  kind- 
ness and  liberality,  and  permit  them  to  remove  from  the  State 
in  such  manner  as  may  be  most  convenient  and  agreeable  to 
them.  Independently  of  the  general  disposition  of  the  Govern- 
ment to  induce  men  to  obey  the  laws,  in  preference  to  the  inflic- 
tion of  punishment,  it  is  important  that  the  Cherokees  should 
not  be  further  excited,  by  harsh  treatment  of  a.ny  whom  they 
may  he  disposed  to  consider  members  of  their  community.  I 
am  fully  convinced,  that  their  future  distinct  existence,  pros- 
perity, and  happiness  depend  upon  their  speedy  removal  beyond 
the  Mississippi.  Every  thing,  therefore,  which  is  done  in  relation 
to  them  should  tend  to  the  accomplishment  of  that  object. 

The  letters  of  the  Secretary  of  War  and  the  Postmaster- 
General,  are  on  file  in  this  office.  That  the  copies  of  them  sent 
you  may  be  used  as  evidence  in  any  future  prosecutions  against 
the  missionaries,  I have  had  the  seal  of  this  office  annexed  to 
the  certificate  of  their  correctness. 

Dr.  Reese,  who  is  known  to  have  the  confidence  of  the  In- 
dians, is  about  visiting  them  at  their  request,  to  advise  with 
them  as  to  the  course  which  their  situation  requires  them  to  take. 
He  is  thoroughly  convinced  of  the  necessity  which  compels  their 
removal,  and  that  the  sooner  it  can  be  made,  the  more  beneficial 
for  them.  He  goes  by  my  advice,  and  will  no  doubt  receive  an 
agency  from  the  President  to  remain  among  them  for  some  time. 

It  is  necessary  that  his  connection  with  the  General  Government 
should  be  secret  for  the  present,  in  order  to  avoid  the  suspicions 
of  the  Indians.  It  is  now  mentioned  to  you,  for  the  purpose  of 
requesting  that  you  will  give  him  any  information,  and  afford  * 
him  any  assistance  in  your  power. 

Very  respectfully,  yours,  &c., 

George  R.  Gilmer. 

Col.  John  W.  A.  Sanford. 

Note. — The  letters  without  direction,  you  are  requested  to 
direct  to  any  missionaries  who  may  be  found  residing  among  the 
Cherokees  contrary  to  the  laws  of  the  State. 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


395 


Executive  Department,  Milledgeville,  16 th  May , 1831. 

SiR; — Sufficient  evidence  has  been  obtained  from  the  Govern- 
ment of  the  United  States,  to  convince  the  Courts  of  this  State, 
that  the  missionaries  employed  among  the  Cherokees  by  the 
American  Board  of  Foreign  Missions,  are  not  its  agents,  and 
therefore  not  exempted  from  the  operation  of  the  law  forbidding 
white  persons  to  reside  among  the  Cherokees  without  license. 
In  continuing  so  to  reside,  you  must  have  known  that  you  were 
acting  in  violation  of  the  laws  of  the  State.  The  mistaken  de- 
cision of  the  Superior  Court  upon  this  subject,  in  the  late  case 
determined  in  Gwinnett  County,  has  enabled  you  for  a time  to 
persist  in  your  opposition  to  the  humane  policy  which  the  Gen- 
eral Government  has  adopted  for  the  civilization  of  the  Indians, 
and  in  your  efforts  to  prevent  their  submission  to  the  laws  of 
Georgia. 

However  criminal  your  conduct  in  this  respect  may  have 
been,  I am  still  desirous  that  you  should  have  an  opportunity  of 
avoiding  the  punishment  ivhich  will  certainly  follow  the  continu- 
ance of  your  present  residence.  You  are,  therefore,  advised  to 
quit  it  with  as  little  delay  as  possible.  Col.  Sanford,  the  com- 
mander of  the  guard,  will  be  directed  to  cause  to  he  delivered 
to  you  this  letter,  and  to  enforce  the  laws,  if  you  should  persist 
in  your  disobedience. 

Very  respectfully,  yours,  &c., 

George  R.  Gilmer. 

Rev.  John  Thompson,  and  others. 


Executive  Department,  Milledgeville , lQth  May , 1831. 

Sir, — It  is  a part  of  my  official  duty  to  cause  all  white  per- 
sons residing  within  the  territory  of  the  State  occupied  by  the 
Cherokees,  to  he  removed  therefrom,  who  refuse  to  take  the  oath  to 
support  the  Constitution  and  laws  of  the  State.  Information  has 
been  received  of  your  continued  residence  within  that  territory 
without  complying  with  the  requisites  of  the  law,  and  of  your  claim 
to  he  exempted  from  its  operation  on  account  of  your  holding  the 
office  of  postmaster  at  New  Echota.  You  have,  no  doubt,  been 
informed  of  your  dismissal  from  that  office. 

That  you  may  be  under  no  mistake  as  to  this  matter,  you 
are  also  informed,  that  the  United  States  Government  does  not 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


3V>6 

recognize  as  its  agents,  tlie  missionaries  acting  under  the  direc- 
tion of  the  American  Board  of  Foreign  Missions. 

Whatever  may  have  been  your  conduct  in  opposing  the 
humane  policy  of  the  General  Government,  or  in  exciting  the 
Indians  to  oppose  the  jurisdiction  of  the  State.  I am  still  de- 
sirous of  giving  you.  and  all  others  similarly  situated,  an  oppor- 
tunity of  avoiding  the  punishment  which  -will  certainly  follow 
your  further  residence  -within  the  State  contrary  to  its  laws. 
You  are.  therefore,  advised  to  remove  from  the  territory  of 
Georgia  occupied  by  the  Cherokees.  Col.  Sanford,  the  com- 
mander of  the  guard,  will  be  requested  to  have  this  letter  de- 
livered to  you,  and  to  delay  your  arrest  until  you  shall  have  had 
an  opportunity  of  leaving  the  State. 

Very  respectfully,  yours.  Ac., 

George  B.  Gilmer. 

Rev.  Samuel  Worcester. 

I omitted  no  opportunity  of  making  impressions 
upon  the  Cherokees  favorable  to  their  removal  to  the 
west  of  tlie  Mississippi,  and  re-union  with  their  people 
already  settled  there. 

Executive  Department,  JRllcdgevillc,  1 ith  May,  1S31. 

Sir. — I have  learned,  through  various  sources,  that  since  the 
late  decision  of  the  Supreme  Court,  the  Cherokee  Indians  are 
in  the  most  unsettled  state  as  to  their  future  course.  It  is  ex- 
ceedingly important,  that  the  Government  should  immediately 
send  an  agent  among  them,  who  has  their  confidence,  and  who 
may  be  qualified  to  give  direction  to  then  measures.  Such  an 
agent  may  be  procured  by  the  appointment  of  Dr.  David  A. 
Reese  of  Montieello.  Jasper  County.  He  is  a gentleman  of  in- 
telligence. high  respectability,  a member  of  the  Legislature  of 
the  State,  and  as  such,  very  efficient  in  opposing  the  effort  made 
at  the  last  session  to  deprive  the  Cherokees  of  the  occupancy  of 
their  country  without  their  consent,  and  without  compensation. 
He  is  the  relative  of  Boudinot,  the  Adairs,  and  Charles  Reese, 
and  acquainted  with  many  of  their  principal  men,  having  visited 
his  relations  during  the  last  summer.  He  has  lately  received 
letters  from  them,  giving  an  account  of  the  distracted  state  of 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


397 


tlieir  councils,  and  urging  him  to  visit  them,  and  assist  them 
with  his  advice.  He  is  thoroughly  convinced  that  it  is  to  their 
interest  to  exchange  the  territory  which  they  at  present  occupy, 
for  lands  on  the  west  of  the  Mississippi,  and  that  the  contract 
for  that  purpose  should  be  entered  into  as  early  as  possible.  He 
wrote  to  me  upon  the  receipt  of  the  letters  from  his  Indian  friends, 
desiring  to  know  whether  it  was  probable  that  his  peculiar  situa- 
tion would  enable  him  to  be  useful  to  the  State.  I have  seen 
him,  and  requested  that  he  would  immediately  comply  with  the 
invitation  of  his  Indian  friends.  I have  stated  to  him,  that  if 
he  will  do  so,  I did  not  doubt  but  that  the  President  would  con- 
fer upon  him  such  an  agency  as  would  authorize  him  to  remain 
among  the  Cherokees  for  such  time  as  he  could  be  usefully  em- 
ployed in  giving  success  to  the  policy  of  the  Government,  with 
such  compensation  as  would  be  an  equivalent  for  the  pecuniary 
sacrifice  he  would  make.  He  will,  in  compliance  with  my  ad- 
vice and  desire,  visit  the  Cherokees  immediately.  I consider  it 
important  that  no  time  should  be  lost  in  giving  the  proper  direc- 
tion to  their  present  unsettled  purposes. 

Permit  me,  therefore,  to  request  that  you  will  present  to  the 
consideration  of  the  President  the  propriety  of  employing  Hr. 
Reese  as  an  agent  of  the  Government.  If  such  an  appointment 
should  be  conferred  upon  him,  I will  take  upon  myself  the  care 
of  forwarding  any  communications  you  may  make  him.  Hr. 
Reese  has  had  with  him  for  some  time  past  an  Indian  boy,  a re- 
lation of  his,  who  is  now  desirous  of  returning  to  his  home. 
This  circumstance,  together  with  others  which  have  been  men- 
tioned, will  enable  him  to  visit  the  Indians,  consult  with  them, 
give  them  correct  views  of  the  humane  policy  of  the  President, 
convince  them  of  what  they  may  expect  from  the  legislation  of 
this  State,  if  they  should  obstinately  persist  in  opposing  its 
wishes,  what  are  its  present  designs  and  probable  future  course, 
without  exciting  the  suspicions  which  would  be  certain  to  inter- 
fere with  the  exertions  of  any  other  agent. 

The  deep  interest  which  is  felt  by  the  people  of  this  State  in 
the  immediate  acquisition  of  the  Cherokee  lands,  will,  I have  no 
doubt,  excuse  me  with  the  President  for  pressing  upon  his  atten- 
tion such  information  as  may  possibly  aid  him  in  executing  the 
contract  of  1802,  and  of  giving  success  ,to  his  liberal  policy  in 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


3^8 

placing  all  the  Indian  people  within  the  States  beyond  their 
jurisdiction,  where  the  means  of  the  Government  may  he  used 
to  advance  their  happiness  and  civilization. 

As  connected  with  this  subject,  and  calculated  to  throw  some 
light  upon  it,  I send  you  the  copy  of  a letter  to  the  officer  com- 
manding the  guard  stationed  among  the  Cherokees,  with  his 
answer. 

Very  respectfully,  yours,  &c., 

George  R.  Gilmer. 

Hon.  John  H.  Eaton. 


Executive  Department,  Milledgcville,  17  th  May,  1831. 

Sir, — Some  days  ago  I received  a letter  from  Dr.  David  A. 
Reese,  stating  that  he  had  received  letters  from  his  Indian  rela- 
tions, representing  the  Cherokees  to  be  very  unsettled  as  to 
their  future  course,  and  requesting  him  to  visit  them  and  aid 
them  with  his  counsel,  and  desiring  to  know  of  me  whether,  in 
complying  with  their  request,  he  could  serve  the  State.  I have 
urged  him  to  visit  the  Cherokees  immediately.  He  is  thoroughly 
convinced  that  the  Cherokees  ought,  for  their  own  advantage,  to 
exchange  their  lands  with  the  United  States,  and  without  delay. 
To  authorize  his  continuing;  among;  them  during  such  time  as 
may  be  necessary  to  explain  to  them  their  true  situation,  the 
policy  of  the  President,  and  the  probable  future  course  of  the 
legislation  of  this  State,  I have  written  to  the  Secretary  of  War, 
requesting  him  to  obtain  from  the  President  for  Dr.  Reese,  an 
agency  for  this  purpose.  Whilst  we  had  the  pleasure  of  your 
company  in  Milledgeville,  I recollect  having  stated  to  you  that 
I knew  no  individual  in  the  State  so  peculiarly  qualified  for 
such  an  agency  as  Dr.  Reese.  If  you  should  concur  with  me 
in  this  opinion,  will  you  oblige  me  so  far  as  to  write  to  the  Pre- 
sident, and  request  of  him  the  appointment  of  Dr.  Reese  to  such 
an  agency. 

Various  accounts  state  that  the  Cherokees  are  restless,  dis- 
turbed, and  undetermined,  since  the  decision  of  the  Supreme 
Court.  The  chiefs  are  very  active  in  representing  to  the  In- 
dians that  the  decision  is  in  favor  of  their  right  of  self-govern- 
ment. I believe  that  no  measure  is  better  calculated  to  prevent 
the  success  of  the  designs  of  the  chiefs,  and  to  convince  them  of 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


399 


tlie  advantages  which  they  will  derive  from  acceding  to  the 
terms  which  the  United  States  is  disposed  to  offer  them  for 
their  lands,  than  the  knowledge  of  what  was  done  at  the  last 
session  of  the  Legislature,  and  the  certainty  that  the  efforts  of 
those  who  are  disposed  to  award  to  them  the  rights  of  humanity, 
cannot  long  prevent  their  removal  from  the  State,  whether  they 
consent  or  not.  It  is  specially  on  this  account  that  I am  so  de- 
sirous that  Ur.  Reese  should  be  among  them. 

Very  respectfully,  yours,  &c., 

George  R.  Gilmer. 

To  the  Hon.  John  McPherson  Berrien. 


I sought  for  information  as  to  the  temper  and  wishes 
of  the  Cherokees,  whenever  and  wherever  it  could  be 
had,  that  what  could  be  done  might  be  done,  for  their 
removal  from  the  State.  The  following  letter  was 
written  to  the  surveyors  upon  their  return  home  from 
running  off  the  Cherokee  territory  into  districts  and 
lots : 

Executive  Department,  Milledgeville,  May,  1831. 

Sir, — I am  desirous  of  procuring  from  you  whatever  infor- 
mation your  late  employment  of  surveyor  among  the  Cherokees 
may  have  enabled  you  to  obtain,  as  to  their  present  temper  and 
designs,  and  probable  future  course. 

You  are  fully  aware  of  the  importance  of  this  subject  to  the 
happiness  of  the  Indians,  the  success  of  the  present  administra- 
tion of  the  General  Government,  the  peace  and  quiet  of  the 
people,  and  the  character  of  the  State  of  Georgia.  Permit  me, 
therefore,  to  ask  of  you  answers  to  the  following  queries  : 

What  effect  has  the  late  decision  of  the  Supreme  Court  had 
upon  the  Cherokees  ? 

Are  the  chiefs  now  disposed  to  cede  their  occupant  rights  in 
Georgia  ? 

Are  the  body  of  the  Indians  more  or  less  disposed  to  do  so 
than  their  chiefs  ? 

Uo  the  chiefs  retain  their  former  influence  over  the  people  ? 

Which  would  the  chiefs  and  the  people  prefer,  ceding  the 


400 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


■whole  of  their  lands  by  treaty,  or  for  each  individual  to  receive 
of  the  Government  the  value  of  his  improvements  ? 

What  number  of  them  have  left  the  State  of  Georgia  on 
account  of  the  extension  of  its  jurisdiction  over  them  1 

What  additional  numbers  could  probably  be  induced  to  re- 
move from  Georgia  by  the  Government’s  paying  to  each  indi- 
vidual the  value  of  his  improvements  ? 

What  effect  has  the  guard  had  upon  them  ? 

Do  they  now  hold  councils,  pass  laws,  or  hold  courts  1 
What  effect  has  the  law  compelling  the  white  men  among 
them  to  take  an  oath  to  support  the  constitution  and  laws  of  the 
State  had  upon  their  conduct  1 

Could  commissioners  now  be  sent  among  the  Cherokees  with 
any  prospect  of  successfully  treating  with  them  for  their  lands  ? 

Do  you"  know  of  any  person  who  has  the  confidence  of  the 
Indians,  who  could  be  induced  to  go  among  them,  and  inform 
them  fully  and  correctly  of  the  views  of  the  Government,  and 
their  own  situation  ? 

Yery  respectfully,  yours.  &c., 

George  R.  Gilmer. 

Executive  Department,  Milledgeville,  31  si.  May,  1831. 

Sir, — By  the  treaty  of  1819,  between  the  United  States  and 
the  Cherokees,  it  was  stipulated,  that  thirty-one  persons,  whose 
names  uTere  attached  in  a list  to  the  treaty,  should  be  entitled  to 
fee-simple  reserves,  on  condition  that  they  would,  in  six  months 
thereafter,  signify  in  writing  to  the  agent  their  intention  of  re- 
siding permanently  upon  them. 

I am  desirous  of  ascertaining  from  you  the  number  of  the 
Cherokees  mentioned  in  that  list,  who  complied  with  the  condi- 
tions of  the  treaty  so  far  as  to  notify  the  agent  of  their  inten- 
tion to  remain  upon  their  reserves,  and  who  afterwards  sold  the 
same  and  gave  fee-simple  titles  to  the  purchasers,  and  who  are 
now  residing  within  the  limits  of  this  State  upon  the  lands  re- 
served to  the  Cherokees  for  their  occupancy.  I am  specially 
solicitous  to  know  whether  Walter  S.  Adair,  John  Martin  and 
Richard  Taylor,  who  are  nowr  acting  as  Chiefs  among  the  Cher- 
okees, and  residing  within  Georgia,  are  the  same  persons  to 
whom  reserves  were  granted  by  the  treaty  of  1819,  and  whether 


FIRST  SKITTERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


401 


John  Ross  received  an  additional  reserve  to  the  one  mentioned 
in  the  treaty,  as  a citizen  of  the  United  States. 

Will  you  also  inform  me  what  relationship  by  blood,  John 
Ross  has  to  the  aboriginal  Indians  1 Who  was  his  father,  how 
much  of  Indian  blood  his  mother  had  ? (fee.,  (fee.  Similar  infor- 
mation will  be  very  acceptable  about  John  Martin,  Richard  Tay- 
lor, John  Ridge,  and  Coody. 

I have  heard  in  various  ways,  that  the  Cherokee  chiefs  are 
very  active  in  holding  secret  councils,  the  object  of  which  is  to 
persuade  the  Indians  to  continue  their  resistance  to  the  laws  of 
Georgia,  and  the  policy  of  the  United  States.  As  the  holding 
of  such  councils  violates  the  laws  of  this  State,  it  is  m37'  duty  to 
have  the  chiefs  who  may  be  present  at  them,  arrested  and  punish- 
ed. If  you  have  any  information  upon  this  subject,  permit  me 
to  request  that  you  will  communicate  it  to  this  Department  as 
early  as  convenient. 

I write  to  you  freely  upon  this  subject,  because  the  enforce- 
ment of  the  laws  of  this  State,  accords  with  the  opinions  and  po- 
licy of  the  Administration  of  the  General  Government,  and  is 
believed  to  be  required,  both  for  the  quiet  of  Georgia,  and  the 
peace  and  happiness  of  the  Indians. 

I am  also  desirous  of  knowing  from  you,  what  course  you 
think  it  probable  the  Cherokees  will  now  pursue.  Can  the 
chiefs  be  induced  to  cede  their  lands  to  Georgia  1 and  if  so,  when, 
and  upon  what  terms  ? Are  the  Indian  people  willing  to  emi- 
grate if  the  Government  will  pay  them  a fair  value  for  their  im- 
provements ? Whether  can  they  be  most  readily  removed  from 
Georgia  by  treaty,  or  by  paying  them  the  value  for  their  im- 
provements ? 

Very  respectfully,  yours,  (fee., 

George  R.  Gilmer. 

Col.  Hugh  Montgomery. 

Executive  Department,  Milledgeoille,  loth  June,  1831. 

Sir, — I consider  it  of  some  importance  in  order  to  give  the 
proper  direction  to  public  opinion,  to  know  something  of  the  par- 
ticular history  of  the  chiefs  of  mixed  blood,  who  are  at  present 
influencing  the  conduct  of  the  Cherokees.  You  are  therefore 
requested  to  ascertain  with  as  much  accuracy  as  possible,  who 
26 


402 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


was  the  father  of  John  Ross,  to  what  state  or  country  he  origi- 
nally belonged,  what  cause  induced  his  connection  with  the  Clie- 
rokees,  what  portion  of  Indian  blood  John  Ross’s  mother  had, 
where  John  Ross  was  educated,  &c.,  Ac.  It  is  desirable  to  have 
similar  information  as  to  Richard  Taylor,  Coody,  Ridge,  John 
Martin,  the  two  Adairs,  Daniel,  and  other  half-breed  Chiefs  in 
this  State. 

Very  Respectfully,  yours,  Ac., 

George  R.  Gilmer. 

Col.  John  W.  A.  Sanford. 

The  answers  to  these  two  letters  enabled  me  to 
communicate  to  the  Legislature  upon  the  subject  of 
them,  as  already  stated. 

In  my  intercourse  with  the  Cherokee  chiefs,  at 
Washington  City,  and  elsewhere,  I never  knew  but 
three  of  any  distinction  who  were  not  descendants  of 
white  persons.  I regret  that  I have  not  the  means  at 
hand  of  giving  with  accuracy  a genealogical  tree  of 
each  distinguished  chief.  The  father  of  John  Ross, 
Lewis  Ross,  and  their  brothers  and  their  sister,  the 
mother  of  Coody,  was  a Scotchman.  The  father  of 
John  Ross’s  mother  was  a Scotchman.  Martin’s  father 
was  a Virginian.  The  fathers  of  the  Adairs  were  Irish- 
men, or  South  Carolinians  of  Irish  descent. 

The  conduct  of  Worcester  and  Butler,  as  described 
in  the  following  letter,  exhibits  a most  singular  contest 
between  the  State  and  two  very  insignificant  individu- 
als, swelled  into  great  importance  by  being  the  instru- 
ments used  by  the  northern  section  of  the  Union  to 
prevent  the  increase  of  the  population  and  consequent 
political  strength  of  the  South,  aided  by  religious  fa- 
natics every  where. 

Executive  Department,  Milledgeville,  17 th  June , 1831. 

Sir, — I inclose  to  you  copies  of  letters  from  Samuel  A. 
Worcester  and  Elizur  Butler,  two  white  men,  who  are  mission- 


FIKST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


403 


aries  among  the  Cherokees,  in  answer  to  my  letter  notifying 
them  that  they  would  be  arrested  if  they  continued  to  disobey 
the  laws  of  the  State  by  residing  among  the  Cherokees,  without 
taking  the  oath  to  support  its  constitution  and  laws. 

You  will  perceive  that  they  deny  the  authority  of  the  State 
to  pass  laws  to  govern  them,  notwithstanding  their  residence 
within  its  limits,  and  express  the  determination  to  abide  its 
penalties.  Let  them  feel  their  full  weight,  since  such  is  their 
voluntary  choice.  Spare  no  exertions  to  arrest  them,  and  all 
others  similarly  situated  and  offending.  If  they  are  discharged 
by  the  Courts,  or  give  bail,  continue  to  arrest  for  each  repeated 
act  of  residence  in  violation  of  the  law.  If  resistance  is  made, 
call  upon  the  militia  of  the  counties  to  aid  you  in  enforcing  the 
laws.  Although  I am  disposed  to  execute  the  laws  with  the 
utmost  forbearance  upon  our  Indian  people,  I owe  it  to  the 
Sovereignty  of  the  State,  to  punish  with  the  utmost  rigor  the 
injurious  and  insolent  conduct  of  the  whites  w'ho  deny  its  power 
and  oppose  its  authority. 

Your  duty  is  laborious  ; but  I know  your  zeal  in  supporting 
the  just  rights  of  the  State,  and  hope  that  your  efforts  may  be 
soon  rewarded  with  the  most  complete  success. 

Yery  respectfully,  yours,  &c., 

George  R.  Gtlmer. 

Col.  John  W.  A.  Sanford. 


Executive  Department,  Milledgeville,  1 7 th  June,  1831. 

Sir, — The  information  received  through  your  letter,  by  Col. 
Jordan,  upon  the  subject  of  the  feelings  and  views  of  the  Chero- 
kees in  Georgia,  is  exceedingly  discouraging.  I pity  the  poor 
and  ignorant  Indians,  for  the  fate  which  their  misguided  leaders 
and  our  own  dishonest  political  partisans  will  be  certain  to  bring 
upon  them,  unless,  indeed,  it  can  be  yet  prevented  by  the  exer- 
tions of  the  Government,  and  the  friends  of  humanity. 

On  the  14th  of  May,  I wrote  to  the  Secretary  of  War,  re- 
questing that  the  President  would  confer  upon  you  such  an 
agency  as  would  authorize  your  remaining  for  some  time  among 
the  Cherokees,  for  the  purpose  of  convincing  them  that  their  own 
interest  requires  them  to  cede  their  lands  in  Georgia.  To  that 
letter  I received  no  answer.  This  has  probably  been  owing  to 


404 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


the  present  vacancy  in  the  office  of  Secretary  of  War,  and  the 
absence  of  the  Attorney-General. 

I cannot  ascertain  from  your  letter  'whether  you  have  still 
any  hope  that  you  could  render  service  to  the  Government  by 
procuring  the  consent  of  the  chiefs  to  cede  the  lands  which  they 
occupy  by  treaty,  or  inducing  the  mass  of  common  Indians  to 
enroll  for  emigration.  Write  me  fully  and  freely,  so  that  I may 
be  enabled  to  communicate  your  views  to  the  President. 

Very  respectfully,  yours,  &c., 

George  K.  Gilmer. 

Dr.  David  A.  Reese. 

The  following  letter  to  the  President,  exhibits  the 
urgent  spirit  -with  which  the  authorities  of  Georgia 
pressed  upon  the  General  Government  its  right  to  re- 
quire that  all  proper  and  available  means  should  be 
used  to  execute  its  contract  of  1 802.  Those  who  know 
the  evident  disposition  of  the  preceding  Legislature  of 
the  State  to  take  possession  of  the  Cherokee  territory, 
and  the  earnest  exertions  used  to  prevent  until  that 
course  should  be  obvious  to  the  right-minded,  could 
alone  understand  fully  the  cause  of  that  urgency. 


Executive  Department,  Milledgeville,  Wtli  June,  1831. 

Sir,- — Circumstances  have  enabled  me  to  collect  much  infor- 
mation as  to  the  present  temper,  designs,  and  probable  future 
course  of  the  Cherokees.  The  great  interest  felt  by  the  people 
of  this  State  in  having  them  removed  from  its  limits,  and  the 
contract  of  1802  finally  executed,  have  induced  me  to  communi- 
cate directly  to  the  President,  so  much  of  that  information  as 
may  possibly  be  useful  to  him,  in  his  endeavors  to  effect  these 
objects.  Strong  hopes  were  at  one  time  entertained,  that  if  the 
decision  of  the  Supreme  Court  should  be  against  the  application 
of  the  Cherokees  for  a writ  of  injunction  to  stay  the  jurisdiction 
of  Georgia,  that  they  would  immediately  treat  with  the  United 
States  for  an  extinguishment  of  their  present  occupant  rights. 
It  is  known,  that  previous  to  that  decision,  and  during  the  penden- 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


405 


cy  of  the  case  before  the  Supreme  Court,  all  classes  had  expressed 
their  belief,  that  such  would  he  the  course  pursued  by  them. 
These  hopes  have,  however,  proved  illusory.  Since  that  decision, 
the  wealthy  and  influential  half-breed  chiefs  have  been  exceed- 
ingly active  in  persuading  the  people  to  continue  their  present 
residence,  in  opposition  to  the  desire  of  the  General  Government 
to  extinguish  their  title,  and  in  defiance  of  the  rights  and  power 
of  Georgia.  These  efforts  have  unfortunately  been  very  success- 
ful. This  has  resulted  from  the  extra-judicial  opinions  of  the 
Supreme  Court,  in  determining  that  the  Cherokees  formed  a 
distinct  political  society,  capable  of  managing  its  own  affairs  ; 
and  that  they  are  the  rightful  owners  of  the  soil  which  they 
occupy.  Meetings  of  the  Indian  people  have  been  called  in 
most  of  the  towns,  at  which  their  chiefs  have  used  these  opinions 
to  convince  them  that  their  rights  of  self-government  and  soil 
were  independent  of  the  United  States  and  Georgia,  and  would 
be  secured  to  them  through  the  Supreme  Court,  and  the  change 
(which  they  represented  to  be  certain)  in  the  Administration  of 
the  General  Government. 

From  all  the  information  which  I have  received,  I am  satis- 
fied that  the  President  would  fail  in  any  immediate  efforts  to 
execute  the  contract  of  1802  by  treaty  with  the  chiefs,  and  that 
the  attempt  would  only  expose  the  Government  to  their  insults, 
and  increase  their  confidence  in  the  unfortunate  measures  they 
are  pursuing. 

It  is  most  respectfully  suggested  to  the  President,  that  no 
measure  can  at  present  be  successfully  adopted  for  the  execution 
of  the  contract  of  1802,  except  inducing  individuals,  families,  and 
towns  to  emigrate  from  the  State,  by  paying  them  for  their  im- 
provements, or  giving  them  such  other  advantages  as  may  be 
found  acceptable  ; and  the  President  is  earnestly  requested  to 
try  the  effect  of  this  measure  as  early  as  possible. 

The  great  body  of  the  common  Indians  are  without  wealth 
or  power.  Nothing  prevents  their  acquiesence  in  the  policy  of 
the  Government  to  unite  them  with  that  part  of  their  tribe  who 
are  on  the  west  of  the  Mississippi,  but  their  habitual  submis- 
sion to  the  control  of  their  chiefs,  and  their  inert,  and  listless 
character.  What  is  said  of  their  strong  desire  to  remain  with 
the  bones  of  their  fathers,  are  but  the  expressions  of  those 


406 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


whose  ancestors’  bodies  are  deposited  in  Europe.  The  confi- 
dence of  the  common  Indians  in  the  rule  of  their  chiefs,  has 
been  somewhat  impaired  by  their  appropriation  of  the  wealth  of 
the  tribe  to  themselves.  Their  listlessness  of  temper  and  in- 
difference about  the  future,  may  possibly  he  in  some  degree 
overcome,  by  the  fear  of  unknown  evils  from  the  operation  of 
the  laws  of  Georgia.  The  guard  which  has  been  stationed  among 
them,  has  been  successful  in  preventing  any  trespasses  upon  the 
gold  mines,  in  putting  a stop  to  their  legislative  councils,  their 
courts,  the  execution  of  their  laws,  and  in  removing  all  white 
men  from  among  them,  disposed  to  excite  their  opposition  to  the 
government  of  the  State. 

The  chiefs  can  no  longer  prevent  the  people  from  enrolling 
for  emigration,  by  the  fear  of  punishment.  It  is  thought  pro- 
bable that  the  very  attempt  to  remove  the  people  in  that  way, 
will  tend  to  produce  a willingness  on  the  part  of  the  chiefs  to 
treat  for  an  exchange  of  their  lands.  They  know,  that  by  the 
removal  of  the  common  Indians,  they  will  lose  their  power,  the 
exclusive  possession  of  the  country,  and  become  subjected  to  the 
prejudices  of  the  white  population  with  whom  they  will  be 
mingled. 

I have  inclosed  to  the  Secretai'y  of  War,  Avith  the  request 
that  the  same  may  be  laid  before  the  President,  the  copy  of  a 
letter  just  received  from  Dr.  Reese,  a respectable  gentleman  of 
this  State,  who  has  lately  returned  from  a visit  to  the  Cherokees, 
and  Avhose  connection  Avith  some  of  the  influential  half-breed 
chiefs,  has  enabled  him  to  acquire  an  accurate  knowledge  of.  the 
designs  of  that  class  ; and  a correspondence  had  with  the  sur- 
veyors Avho  have  been  lately  engaged  in  dividing  the  country 
occupied  by  the  Cherokees  into  sections  and  districts,  and  whose 
employment  led  them  into  very  unreserved  intercourse  with  all 
classes  of  the  Indians.  The  opinions  expressed  by  these  per- 
sons, in  favor  of  the  plan  of  removing  the  Cherokees  by  enroll- 
ing individuals  for  emigration,  rather  than  by  treaty  Avith  the 
chiefs,  is  confirmed  by  information  derived  from  various  other 
sources. 

This  subject  is  of  great  importance,  not  only  to  the  peace, 
prosperity,  and  quiet  of  the  State,  hut  to  the  character  of  its 
Government.  The  obstructions  which  have  been  thrown  in  the 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


407 


way  of  tlie  execution  of  the  contract  of  1802,  the  long-continued 
indifference  and  neglect  of  the  General  Government,  and  its 
actual  opposition  in  1825-26  ; the  constant  abuse  which  party 
violence  has  poured  upon  the  authorities  of  this  State  and  its 
people,  on  account  of  the  measures  which  have  been  adopted  for 
the  support  of  its  rights  of  soil  and  jurisdiction  ; the  influence 
which  that  partisan  violence  is  now  exercising  over  the  Che- 
rokee chiefs  in  inducing  them  to  continue  their  opposition  to  the 
laws  of  Georgia,  and  in  exciting  their  expectation  that  by  a 
change  of  the  present  administration  of  the  General  Government, 
they  will  he  secured  in  the  rights  of  self-government ; the  con- 
duct of  the  Chief  Justice  of  the  United  States  in  interfering 
with  the  administration  of  the  criminal  laws  of  the  State,  and 
the  intimation  given  the  Cherokees  in  his  decision,  that  the  laws 
of  Georgia  were  exceedingly  oppressive ; that  the  State  had 
neither  the  right  of  jurisdiction  nor  of  soil ; have  all  conspired 
so  to  irritate  the  public  mind  here,  that  it  will  be  extremely  dif- 
ficult, perhaps  impossible,  to  prevent  the  Legislature  t from  dis- 
posing of  all  the  lands  of  the  State  assigned  to  the  Indians  for 
their  occupancy,  except  so  much  as  may  he  in  their  immediate 
possession,  or  required  for  their  support,  unless  the  President 
shall  he  enabled  during  the  present  year,  to  adopt  such  measures 
as  will  give  assurance  that  the  Cherokees  will  he  certainly  and 
shortly  removed  from  the  State.  It  is  important  that  the  Gov- 
ernment of  the  State  should  know,  whether  it  has  become  im- 
possible for  the  United  States  to  execute  the  contract  of  1802, 
so  that  its  policy  in  relation  to  the  Cherokees  may  no  longer  be 
influenced  by  the  expectation  of  that  event. 

Hitherto  the  Indians  have  neither  been  compelled  to  pay 
taxes,  nor  perform  any  civil  duties.  The  only  operation  of  the 
laws  since  the  extension  of  the  jurisdiction  of  the  State  over 
their  territory,  has  been  to  protect  them  from  injury,  by  the 
removal  of  the  whites  who  had  been  tempted  into  their  country 
by  the  attraction  of  the  gold  mines,  to  escape  punishment  for 
their  crimes,  or  to  indulge  in  vice.  The  State  is  at  this  time 
maintaining  a guard  at  great  expense,  for  the  purpose  of  prevent- 
ing the  exercise  of  assumed  authority  on  the  part  of  the  chiefs, 
from  the  expectation  that  the  President  will  be  enabled  during 
the  present  year,  to  succeed  in  removing  the  Indians  beyond  its 


1 '8  FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 

limits,  and  the  strong  disposition  felt  by  its  authorities  to  avoid 
the  adoption  of  any  measures  which  might  have  even  the  ap- 
pearance of  violating  the  laws  of  humanity,  or  the  natural  rights 
of  the  Indians. 

If  the  Cherokees  are  to  continue  inhabitants  of  the  State, 
they  must  be  rendered  subject  to  the  ordinary  operations  of  the 
laws  with  less  expense  and  trouble,  and  more  effectually,  than 
heretofore.  The  State  must  put  an  end  to  even  the  semblance 
of  a distinct  political  government  within  its  territory.  It  has 
been  hitherto  permitted,  from  the  belief  that  the  happiness  of  the 
Indians  required  it,  and  that  such  condition  was  not  then  incon- 
venient, nor  injurious  to  the  rights  of  Georgia.  The  agitation 
which  the  Indian  question  has  excited  throughout  our  country, 
and  the  manner  in  which  it  has  endangered  the  most  important 
political  rights  of  the  State,  require  that  what  is  insisted  on  shall 
be  done.  The  millions  of  acres  of  land  which  are  now  of  no 
value,  except  to  add  to  the  gratification  of  the  idle  ambition  of 
the  chiefs;  must  be  placed  in  the  possession  of  actual  cultivators 
of  the  soil,  who  may  be  made  the  instruments  for  the  proper  ad- 
ministration of  the  laws. 

It  is  hoped  that  the  President  will  concur  in  the  necessity 
of  making  such  efforts  for  removing  the  Cherokees,  as  will  as- 
certain whether  it  is  practicable  by  any  means  whatever. 

I trust  that  the  importance  of  the  subject  will  be  my  suf- 
ficient apology  for  the  manner  in  which  it  has  been  pressed  upon 
the  consideration  of  the  President. 

With  sentiments  of  the  highest  consideration, 

I am  most  respectfully,  yours,  &c., 

George  R.  Gilmer. 

Andrew  Jackson, 

President  of  the  United  States. 


In  the  month  of  Aimust,  1831,  I wrote  to  the  Se- 
cretary  of  War,  urging  the  appointment  of  several  per- 
sons to  enroll  the  Indians  for  emigration.  lie  appoint- 
ed Col.  Montgomery  the  Cherokee  agent,  an  old,  inef- 
ficient man,  whose  residence  was  in  Tennessee,  at  a 
distance  from  the  Indians  most  disposed  to  emigrate. 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


409 


The  following  letter  points  out  the  mistaken  course 
pursued  by  the  officers  of  the  General  Government, 
and  the  difficulties  which  the  authorities  of  Georgia 
had  to  encounter  in  the  efforts  made  to  acquire  all  the 
territorial  rights  of  the  State.  Nothing  was  done  vol- 
untarily,  and  upon  its  own  suggestions,  by  the  Govern- 
ment of  the  United  States  for  executing  its  contract 
with  Georgia.  Ever/  measure  for  that  purpose  had  to 
be  proposed  and  urged  again  and  again,  or  nothing 
was  done.  Great  sympathy  was  evinced  for  the  In- 
dians by  the  people  of  those  States  in  which  there 
were  none.  All  effectual  means  for  removing  them 
from  Georgia  were  unpopular.  It  was  more  politic 
and  easier  to  conciliate  the  greater  number,  than  to  do 
justice  to  one.  Even  Gen.  Jackson,  with  his  thorough 
knowledge  of  the  subject,  and  bold,  fearless  spirit,  had 
to  be  stirred  up,  and  coerced  into  the  humor  to  do  any 
thing  worth  doing. 

Tennessee  was  much  more  interested  in  removing 
the  Indians  from  its  own  territory  than  from  Georgia. 
Gen.  Jackson  was  a Tennesseean,  and  never  forgot  it 
in  all  his  transactions  with  the  Cherokees.  And  yet 
even  this  injustice  (for  it  was  injustice  to  put  Tennessee 
upon  an  equality  with  Georgia  in  the  measures  to  be 
taken  for  removing  the  Indians)  operated  incidentally 
to  the  advantage  of  Georgia.  Without  it,  Gen.  Jack- 
son  might  have  been  as  forgetful  of  the  obligations  of 
the  General  Government’s  contract  as  those  who  pre- 
ceded him,  and  the  President  who  followed  him. 

The  letters  to  the  President  and  to  the  Secretary 
of  W ar  show  how  urgent  the  authorities  of  the  State 
had  to  be  with  Gen.  Jackson  to  induce  him  to  act. 


410 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


Executive  Department,  Millcdgeville,  2 0th  August , 1831. 

Sir, — Some  time  ago,  I had  the  honor  of  addressing  letters 
to  the  President,  and  your  predecessor  in  office,  urging  the  ex- 
pediency of  attempting  to  remove  the  Cherokees  from  the  State, 
by  paying  individuals  and  families  the  value  of  their  improve- 
ments, with  such  other  advantages  as  might  he  thought  proper, 
upon  their  consenting  to  emigrate  beyond  the  Mississippi.  I 
have  been  convinced  by  information  received  from  various  per- 
sons, that  no  treaty  can  be  formed  with  the  chiefs  hut  through 
the  measures  proposed,  and  that  though  this  should  fail  to  effect 
the  entire  object,  a large  proportion  of  the  unmixed  Indians  may 
be  thus  removed.  The  President  answered,  that  orders  would 
be  given  to  the  agent  to  enroll  the  Cherokees  for  emigration 
after  the  plan  proposed.  The  laws  of  the  State  give  authority 
to  the  Governor  to  have  the  places  which  may  be  relinquished 
by  the  Indians  occupied  by  citizens.  It  is,  indeed,  this  circum- 
stance which  renders  the  plan  which  the  President  has  con- 
sented to  adopt,  so  well  calculated  to  secure  success.  With  the 
aid  of  those  who  may  he  thus  settled  every  where  among  the  In- 
dians, the  organization  of  the  territory  as  portions  of  counties, 
and  the  election  and  appointment  of  civil  officers,  it  is  believed 
that  the  controlling  influence  of  the  chiefs  may  be  destroyed,  and 
thereby  the  principal  difficulty  overcome  which  prevents  the  ex- 
ecution of  the  contract  of  1802.  Permit  me,  therefore,  respect- 
fully to  urge  your  department  to  press  this  policy  immediately, 
and  to  its  full  effect. 

The  obstructions  which  have  been  thrown  in  the  way  of  the 
execution  of  the  contract  of  1802  by  former  administrations,  the 
attempt  of  the  half-breed  chiefs  to  create  an  independent  Gov- 
ernment, and  their  active  resistance  to  the  efforts  of  the  Presi- 
dent to  do  justice  to  Georgia,  have  added  great  excitement  to 
the  desire  of  the  people  of  this  State  to  acquire  the  immediate 
possession  of  the  lands  occupied  by  the  Cherokees.  Measures 
may,  in  consequence,  he  adopted  by  the  State  which,  under  other 
circumstances,  would  be  considered  highly  injudicious,  and  which 
will  be  prevented  if  the  plan  which  the  President  has  consented 
to  pursue  should  create  a probability  of  success. 

It  has  been  suggested  that  it  will  he  important  to  have  sev- 
eral persons  engaged  at  the  same  time  in  enrolling  for  emigra- 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


411 


tion  in  different  parts  of  the  territory,  and  that  they,  or  the  In- 
dian agent,  should  be  supplied  with  funds  to  pay  at  once  for  the 
improvements  of  such  individuals  and  families  as  may  enroll  for 
removal. 

It  is  probable  that  the  Indians  on  the  south  and  east  side  of 
the  Etowah  River,  can  be  more  readily  induced  to  enroll  than 
those  on  the  borders  of  Tennessee  and  North  Carolina,  on  ac- 
count of  the  number  of  citizens  who  are  among  them,  and  the 
means  thereby  afforded  to  the  Government  to  render  them  en- 
tirely subject  to  its  authority.  The  immediate  possession  of 
that  part  of  the  territory  is  also  particularly  desirable  to  the 
State,  on  account  of  the  gold  mines  which  it  contains.  I would, 
therefore,  request  that  the  enrolling  officers  be  directed  by  you 
to  make  their  first  efforts  to  remove  the  Indians  from  it. 

Permit  me,  also,  to  request  that  you  will  communicate  to 
this  Department  the  success  of  your  measures  upon  this  subject, 
that  the  same  may  be  laid  before  the  Legislature  at  its  session 
in  November  next. 

Very  respectfully,  yours,  &c., 

George  R.  Gtlmer. 

lion.  Lewis  Cass. 

P.  S. — I send  you  copies  of  several  letters  lately  received, 
which  may  possibly  contain  information  useful  to  your  Depart- 
ment. 

Executive  Department,  Milledgeville,  24<A  August,  1831. 

Sir, — I received,  by  the  last  mail,  your  letter  of  the  12th 
inst.,  together  with  a copy  of  your  instructions  to  the  Cherokee 
agent,  upon  the  subject  of  enrolling  the  Clierokees  for  emigra- 
tion. 

Some  disappointment  has  been  felt  at  the  delay  which  has 
occurred,  the  cause  of  which  was  unknown  until  the  receipt  of 
your  letter. 

On  the  20th  inst.,  I wrote  you,  urging  various  reasons  why 
the  policy  which  is  about  to  be  pursued,  should  be  pressed  to  its 
fullest  effect  as  soon  as  possible. 

I perceive  from  your  instructions  to  the  Cherokee  agent,  that 
the  business  of  enrollment  is  intrusted  exclusively  to  him.  Col. 
Montgomery  is  a worthy  man,  but  I do  not  consider  it  injustice 


412  FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 

to  him  to  say,  that  he  is  too  old,  indecisive,  and  uninfluential  to 
produce  the  effect  which  the  Government  desires.  Besides,  his 
agency  is  in  Tennessee  where  the  Indians  are  not  subject  to  the 
jurisdiction  of  the  State,  and  the  white  men  who  reside  among 
them  under  no  special  restraint  and  interested  in  preventing  the 
successful  accomplishment  of  the  policy  of  the  Government. 

I suggested  to  you  in  my  letter  of  the  20th,  the  propriety  of 
establishing  several  offices  for  enrolling  emigrants.  I again 
repeat  the  suggestion,  convinced,  as  I am,  that  its  adoption  is  of 
the  greatest  importance  to  insure  success.  The  contract  of  the 
United  States  to  extinguish  the  Indian  title  to  all  lands  within 
the  limits  of  Georgia,  authorizes  me  to  request,  as  an  act  of  jus- 
tice, that  the  Cherokees  should  be  first  removed  from  this  State. 

If  there  is  but  one  office  of  emigration,  and  that  at  the 
agency,  it  will  be  difficult  to  induce  the  Indians  from  this  State 
to  go  that  far  to  enroll,  inert  as  they  are,  and  subject  to  the 
controlling  influence  of  the  chiefs.  Those  who  reside  within  our 
limits  are  most  probably  readier  than  others  to  enroll  on  account 
of  the  extension  of  its  laws  over  them,  and  their  apprehension 
of  suffering  therefrom  unknown  evils.  It  is  indeed  believed, 
that  the  indications  of  a desire  to  emigrate  have  been  almost 
exclusively  confined  to  the  Indians  in  this  State,  and  principally 
to  those  who  reside  on  the  south  and  east  of  the  Etowah  River. 
They  may,  also,  enroll  without  fear  of  injury  from  the  influence 
cf  their  chiefs,  on  account  of  the  protection  which  the  Georgia 
guard  will  be  enabled  to  afford  them. 

If  any  difficulty  should  occur  in  procuring  proper  agents,  I 
wrould  respectfully  recommend  to  you  the  persons  who  are  men- 
tioned as  suitable  for  such  services  in  my  letters  of  the  14th  of 
May  and  the  21st  of  June,  and  the  accompanying  communica- 
tions. 

You  may  be  assured  that  I have  no  desire  to  give  undue  im- 
portance to  this  subject.  The  evils  which  are  anticipated  from 
an  inefficient  or  dilatory  employment  of  the  means  of  the  Gov- 
ernment to  remove  the  Cherokees  may  be  very  great ; I would, 
if  possible,  avert  them. 

Very  respectfully,  yours,  &e., 

George  R.  Gilmer. 


Hon.  Lewis  Cass. 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


413 


When  it  was  known  that  preachers  of  the  Gospel 
had  been  arrested  for  illegal  residence  among  the  Chero- 
kees,  and  subjected  to  the  restraints  of  prisoners,  great 
sympathy  was  felt  for  them  by  their  brethren  through- 
out the  State,  and  elsewhere.  I received  a letter  from 
one  of  the  oldest  and  most  respectable  Presbyterian 
preachers  of  the  Southern  country,  asking  why  Presbyte- 
rian clergymen  were  by  the  Governor  treated  as  knaves. 

The  sensitiveness  of  the  Methodists  may  be  inferred 
from  the  following  answer  to  a letter  received  from  the 
Rev.  John  Howard,  making  complaints  of  the  treat- 
ment of  Methodist  missionaries. 


Executive  Department,  Milledgcvillc,  September  ] st,  1831. 

Rev.  Sir. — I have  just  received  your  letter  of  the  29th 
ult.,  in  which  you  call  my  attention  to  the  publication  in  the 
Advocate  and  Journal  of  the  12th  inst.,  upon  the  subject  of  the 
conduct  of  the  Georgia  guard. 

I thank  you  for  the  direct  course  you  have  pursued  in  this 
matter,  and  the  freedom  writk  which  you  have  expressed  your 
feelings,  and  opinions.  I have  no  desire  whatever  to  avoid  any 
scrutiny  into  my  official  conduct. 

McLeod’s  statements  concerning  the  orders  which  I have 
given  to  the  guard  are  wholly  destitute  of  truth. 

Immediately  after  the  passage  of  the  law  which  made  it 
criminal  for  white  men  to  reside  among  the  Cherokees,  without 
license,  I caused  one  hundred  copies  to  be  published  and  distri- 
buted among  those  upon  wdiom  it  wras  to  operate.  By  this  means 
every  white  man  w;ho  resided  among  the  Indians,  wTas  informed 
of  the  provisions  of  the  law  in  time  to  make  up  a deliberate  re- 
solve. whether  he  would  obey  or  not.  Between  two  and  three 
hundred  persons  have  continued  their  residence  by  taking  the 
oath  to  support  the  laws.  A few  have  left  the  State.  The  mis- 
sionaries alone  have  publicly  denied  the  power  of  the  State  to 
extend  its  jurisdiction  over  them,  and  expressed  their  design  to 
disregard  the  law,  and  abide  its  penalties.  One  of  them  was  ar- 
rested, and  discharged  by  the  Superiour  Court,  upon  the  ground 


414 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


that  missionaries  were  agents  of  the  United  States  Government, 
and  therefore  not  liable  to  arrest.  This  person  was  a Mr. 
Thompson,  who  knew  at  the  time  that  he  was  not  an  agent  of  the 
United  States  Government,  as  he  has  since  acknowledged  in  a 
letter  to  me.  The  decision,  however,  furnished  an  excuse  for  the 
missionaries  to  continue  their  illegal  residence.  I procured  from 
the  United  States  Government  proof  that  the  missionaries,  as 
such,  were  not  agents  of  the  Government.  Instead  of  ordering 
Col.  Sanford  to  arrest  them  immediately,  as  would  have  been  law- 
ful, and  as  I think  justified  by  their  conduct,  I wrote  to  all  the 
missionaries,  notifying  them  that  they  would  be  arrested,  if  they 
did  not  remove.  Orders  were  given  to  Col.  Sanford,  that  if  they 
showed  no  disposition  to  oppose  the  policy  of  the  Government, 
to  treat  them  with  kindness,  and  liberality,  and  permit  them  to 
remove  as  might  be  most  convenient  and  agreeable  to  themselves. 
I received  answers  from  Worcester  and  Butler,  denying  the  au- 
thority of  the  laws  of  the  State,  and  refusing  to  obey  them. 
Copies  of  their  answers  were  sent  to  Col.  Sanford,  with  directions 
to  spare  no  exertions  to  arrest  them,  that  they  might  feel  the 
full  weight  of  the  law,  since  such  was  their  choice. 

There  has  been  no  expression,  or  intimation  whatever  in  any 
order  or  letter,  or  otherwise  from  me,  to  treat  those  who  might 
be  arrested,  in  any  other  manner  than  as  the  law  directed.  You 
cannot  regret  so  much  as  I do,  that  any  members  of  the  guard 
should  have  been  so  much  excited  by  the  improper  conduct  of 
these  men,  as  to  put  them  into  chains.  That  they  were  in  the 
constant  habit  of  speaking  in  the  most  opprobrious  terms  of  our 
Government,  laws,  and  public  authorities,  I have  positive  proof. 
And  the  account  of  McLeod  himself,  shows  how  far  he  was  dis- 
posed thus  to  act.  Although  I cannot  excuse  the  severity  with 
which  he  was  treated,  it  is  certain  that  the  guard  acted  under 
excited  feelings,  created  by  the  abuse  of  those  under  whose  or- 
ders they  were  acting. 

But  you,  my  dear  sir,  and  many  others,  are  entirely  mistaken 
both  as  to  my  power  over  the  guard,  the  kind  of  authority  which 
has  been  conferred  upon  it,  and  the  manner  of  its  organization. 

It  is  composed  of  citizens  of  the  State  (forty  in  number),  who 
have  been  employed  upon  wages,  to  perform  a particular  duty. 
They  are  but  assistants  to  the  civil  officers,  and  are  substituted 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA.  415 

for  sheriffs  and  constables,  only  because  they  can  act  more  effi- 
ciently. They  are  neither  soldiers,  nor  subject  to  military  law. 
If  they  violate  the  rights  of  any  person,  whether  missionary,  or 
Indian,  they  are  liable  to  be  sued,  or  indicted  like  other  citizens. 
I have  no  authority  to  punish  them,  whatever  may  be  their  con- 
duct. My  power  extends  only  to  the  appointment  of  the  agent 
or  commissioner  (as  the  commander  is  called  in  the  law),  and 
the  orginization  of  the  guard.  The  agent  himself  cannot  pun- 
ish a member  of  the  guard  for  disorderly  conduct  or  other  offence, 
not  even  by  dismissing  him  without  pay.  However  improper  the 
guard  may  have  acted,  Col.  Sanford  is  not  answerable  for  it. 
Worcester,  Trott,  and  others  were  arrested,  whilst  he  was  in  Mil- 
ledgeville  in  the  discharge  of  his  duty  making  his  quarterly  re- 
port. He  did  not  return,  until  after  the  persons  arrested  had 
been  confined  for  several  days  at  his  station,  waiting  for  the  evi- 
dence which  he  had  in  his  possession,  to  prove  that  the  mission- 
aries were  not  agents  of  the  Government. 

I must  refer  you  to  the  publications  in  the  Georgia  Journal, 
of  this  day,  for  further  evidence  of  what  lias  been  my  official 
conduct. 

In  conclusion,  I would  observe  that  the  missionaries  have  not 
been  compelled  to  desert  their  religious  labors,  by  any  conduct 
of  the  authorities  of  the  Government,  but  by  their  improper  con- 
nection with  political  parties,  and  refusal  to  obey  the  laws.  Had 
they  submitted  to  the  jurisdiction  which  rightfully  belongs  to  the 
State,  they  would  have  received  its  protection,  and  had  my  best 
wishes  for  their  success  in  enlightening  the  Indians. 

The  law  does  not  punish  missionaries  for  residing  among  the 
Cherokees,  but  every  white  man  who  so  resides  contrary  to  its 
provisions,  and  if  missionaries  will  act  illegally  they  must  suffer 
the  consequences. 

Very  respectfully,  yours,  &c., 

George  R.  Gilmer. 

Rev.  John  Howard. 

Executive  Department,  Milledgeville,  3d  Sept.,  1831. 

Sir, — A few  days  ago,  I read  in  the  Cherokee  Phoenix,  state- 
ments from  Worcester  and  Trott,  charging  Col.  Nelson  and  some 
of  the  guard  with  the  use  of  irons  in  confining  them,  and  other 
illegal  and  unnecessarily  severe  treatment. 


416 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


The  flagrantly  criminal  conduct  of  those  two  men  induced 
me  to  discredit  them.  I have  since,  however,  received  through 
a friend,  the  New  York  Advocate  and  Journal,  containing  a 
letter  from  McLeod,  corroborating  the  account  given  by  Worces- 
ter and  Trott.  The  character  of  the  Government,  and  the  good 
of  that  portion  of  the  public  service  committed  to  your  particular 
charge,  require  that  the  facts  should  be  inquired  into,  and  if 
found  true,  efficient  means  used  to  prevent  their  recurrence. 

That  you  may  know  how  to  direct  your  inquiry,  I inclose 
to  you  the  paper  which  contains  the  publication  to  which  I have 
referred. 

You  are  requested  to  inquire  particularly  into  the  fact,  whe- 
ther irons  were  used  to  confine  the  prisoners  arrested  by  the 
guard,  the  necessity  which  existed  for  the  use  of  such  means, 
the  causes  which  led  to  the  arrest  of  McLeod,  and  the  severe 
treatment  of  himself  and  other  prisoners. 

I am  aware  that  these  things  occurred,  if  they  occurred  at 
all,  during  your  presence  in  Milledgeville  in  the  discharge  of 
your  duties.  The  highly  efficient  and  honorable  manner  in 
which  you  have  executed  the  service  which  has  been  assigned 
you,  and  your  own  character,  are  sufficient  security  that  you 
have  not  sanctioned  any  unauthorized  oppression  of  prisoners. 

You  are  requested  to  report  both  the  conduct  of  the  guard 
and  of  the  persons  arrested. 

It  will  be  proper  for  you  to  instruct  the  guard,  that  in  the 
arrest  of  those  who  may  have  violated  the  law,  their  duty  is  con- 
fined to  the  certain  delivery  of  their  prisoners  to  the  civil  officers, 
and  that  no  other  severity  is  authorized  by  the  law,  but  what 
may  be  necessary  to  effect  that  object. 

Very  respectfully,  yours,  &c., 

George  R.  Gilmer. 

Col.  John  AY.  A.  Sanford. 


Great  vigilance  was  necessary  to  prevent  the  con- 
tinuation of  the  misdirected  influence  of  the  missionaries 
over  the  Cherokees. 

The  following  letters  will  show  the  spirit  of  the 
missionaries,  and  how  it  was  met. 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


417 


Executive  Department,  Milledgeville,  8th  Sept.,  1831. 

Sir, — In  answer  to  your  letter  of  the  5th  ult.,  you  are  in- 
formed, that  the  Executive  officers  of  the  State  are  not  author- 
ized to  make  any  distinction  between  persons,  on  account  of  their 
religious  opinions  or  employments.  No  white  person,  whether  a 
citizen  of  Georgia  or  Tennessee,  can  now  he  permitted  to  reside 
in  that  part  of  the  State  occupied  by  the  Cherokees,  who  was 
not  an  inhabitant  of  it  previous  to  the  first  of  March  last,  and 
had  not  at  that  time  taken  the  oath  to  support  the  laws  and 
constitution  of  the  State.  All  ministers  of  the  Gospel  who 
resided  among  the  Indians  when  the  law  upon  this  subject 
passed,  had  an  opportunity  afforded  them  of  continuing  their 
religious  services,  by  complying  with  its  requirements. 

Those  who  have  thought  that  they  were  under  higher  obliga- 
tions to  act  according  to  their  own  opinions  of  the  rights  of  the 
Cherokees,  than  to  submit  to  the  policy  of  the  General  Govern- 
ment, and  obey  the  lawTs  of  the  State,  have  found  that  obedience 
to  rulers  is  a positive  duty.  White  persons  who  continue  to 
move  about  from  one  place  to  another  among  the  Cherokees,  are 
considered  as  much  within  the  mischief  which  the  law  intends  to 
remedy,  as  if  stationary,  and  will  be  arrested  in  like  manner. 

Very  respectfully,  yours,  &c., 

George  R.  Gilmer. 

Rev.  D.  C.  McLeod. 


Executive  Department,  Milledgeville,  oth  Sept.,.  18-3 V. 

Sir, — Your  letter  of  the  30th  inst.,  tendering  the  resignation 
of  your  appointment  as  sub-commander  of  the  guard,  has  been 
received,  as  has  been  your  report,  in  answer  to  the  inquiries 
directed  to  be  made  into  various  charges  which  have  been  pub- 
lished against  yourself,  and  the  members  of  the  guard  under 
your  command,  in  the  arrest  of  certain  missionaries. 

I have  uniformly  found  you  exceedingly  active  and  faithful 
in  the  discharge  of  the  public  service  which  has  been  assigned 
to  you,  and  although  I have  not  altogether  approved  of  the  means 
which  were  employed  on  one  or  two  occasions,  in  enforcing  the 
laws,  I have  never  doubted  but  that  your  object  was  the  per- 
formance of  what  you  considered  your  duty. 

The  avidity  with  which  those  who  are  opposed  to  the  Adminis- 
27 


418 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


tration  of  the  General  and  State  Governments  seize  upon  every 
thing  which  can  be  made  to  operate  upon  public  opinion  injuri- 
ously to  their  success,  renders  it  necessary  that  those  efforts 
should  be  promptly  met. 

F rom  the  belief  that  your  resignation  has  been  tendered  from 
chagrin  at  the  inquiry  which  has  been  ordered,  I have  returned 
it  to  you  with  the  expression  of  my  wish  that  you  'will  not,  when 
the  State  most  requires  your  exertions,  leave  its  service. 

Your  report  is  deemed  satisfactory. 

The  rule  to  be  observed  relative  to  prisoners  is,  that  they 
be  confined  in  such  manner  as  to  prevent  their  rescue  or  escape. 
Whatever  is  necessary  to  effect  this  object  is  justifiable.  Con- 
finement is  never  to  be  rendered  severe  upon  prisoners  for  the 
purpose  of  punishment. 

I shall  take  no  steps  to  supply  your  place,  until  I again  hear 
from  you. 

Very  respectfully,  yours,  &c., 

George  R.  Gilmer. 

Col.  Charles  H.  Nelson. 

An  unexpected  obstruction  was  placed  in  the  way 
of  protecting  the  gold  mines  from  trespass,  and  remov- 
ing intruders,  by  the  decision  of  one  of  the  judges,  de- 
claring the  law  to  be  unconstitutional  which  made  it 
peual  for  the  Indians  to  take  gold  from  the  lands  of 
the  State. 

The  law  which  the  judge  pronounced  unconstitu- 
tional, made  it  the  special  duty  of  the  Governor  to 
prevent  the  Indians  from  trespassing  upon  the  gold 
mines. 

As  the  Executive  and  Judicial  Departments  are  by 
the  Constitution  made  separate  and  distinct,  I did  not 
consider  that  the  authority  belonged  to  the  judges  to 
direct  the  Governor  how  he  was  to  enforce  the  laws. 
I,  therefore,  obeyed  their  requirements,  rather  than 
the  opinion  of  the  judge. 

Upon  being  notified  that  a violator  of  the  law  who 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


419 


had  been  arrested  by  the  guard,  had  been  liberated  by 
the  Court,  I wrote  the  following  letter  to  the  com- 
mander of  the  guard : 

Executive  Department,  Millcdgeville,  19 th  Sept.,  1831. 

Sir, — I have  just  learned,  that  the  judge  of  the  Western 
Circuit  has  decided  that  the  law  for  the  protection  of  the  mines 
in  the  territory  occupied  by  the  Cherokees  is  void ; and  that 
he  has  discharged  an  Indian  from  confinement,  who  had  been 
arrested  by  the  guard  for  its  violation.  As  the  effect  of  this 
decision  will  be  to  create  the  opinion  among  the  Indians,  that 
they  are  now  licensed  to  plunder  the  State  of  this  valuable  pro- 
perty, I have  thought  proper  to  give  you  express  instructions  to 
defend  it,  that  you  may  be  justified  in  that  course. 

I have  no  doubt  that  the  Legislature  has  the  authority  to 
take  possession  of  the  mines,  and  the  constitutional  right  to  pass 
laws  to  protect  them  from  trespass.  By  the  law  which  has  been 
passed,  the  Governor  is  directed  to  take  possession  of  the  mines, 
and  to  cause  all  persons  to  be  arrested  who  may  attempt  to  violate 
that  possession.  The  special  object  of  your  appointment,  and 
the  organization  of  the  guard  under  your  command,  was  to  enable 
the  Governor  to  obey  these  requirements.  You  are  not  an  officer 
connected  with  the  Judiciary  Department,  but  the  agent  whom 
the  Legislature  has  authorized  the  Executive  to  employ,  to  per- 
form a public  service  which  was  imposed  by  law  upon  that  de- 
partment. You  ivill  therefore  arrest  every  person  who  may  be 
found  attempting  to  take  away  gold  from  the  mines.  You  will 
give  general  information  in  the  Cherokee  County  of  the  deter- 
mination of  the  Executive  Department  to  enforce  the  law,  so  as 
to  avoid  if  possible  the  necessity  of  making  any  arrests. 

The  peaceful  acquisition  of  our  Indian  territory,  and  the 
preservation  of  the  rights  of  the  State,  may  depend  essentially 
upon  your  prudence  and  firmness,  in  executing  the  duty  which 
has  been  assigned  you. 

Very  respectfully,  yours,  &c., 

George  R.  Gilmer. 

Col.  John  W.  A.  Sanford. 

Another  difficulty  between  the  officers  of  the  Judi- 
ciary and  Executive  Departments  occurred  about  this 


420 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


time,  which  embarrassed  me  quite  as  much  as  the  decision 
of  the  judge  of  the  Western  Circuit.  Gen.  Charles 
Floyd  of  Camden,  was  charged  with  the  commission  of 
a violent  assault  upon  a man  who  had  killed  his  brother. 
The  officers  of  the  judiciary  were  unable,  or  failed  to 
arrest  him.  The  presiding  judge  of  the  Superior  Court 
of  the  county  where  the  offimce  was  committed,  instead 
of  ordering  out  the  posse  comitatus,  or  such  force  as 
would  have  insured  the  arrest,  if  it  could  have  been 
made,  applied  to  the  Governor  to  make  it.  I was  the 
intimate  friend  of  Gen.  John  Floyd,  whose  son’s  violent 
death  was  the  immediate  cause  of  the  offence  charged 
upon  Gen.  Charles  Floyd.  I was  at  the  time  a candi- 
date for  re-election.  The  most  personal  and  abusive 
opposition  made  to  my  election  proceeded  from  some 
of  the  officers  of  the  court  by  whom  this  singular  ap- 
plication was  made.  The  matter  is  as  inexplicable  now 
as  it  was  then.  It  was  at  once  known  that  I had  re- 
fused to  do  the  duty  of  sheriff  of  Camden  County.  An 
application  was  made  to  me  by  those  opposed  to  my 
re-election,  for  a copy  of  my  letter  upon  the  subject. 
It  was  given  to  them.  They  declined  publishing  it. 
The  seekers  for  matter  to  defame  the  Chief  Magistrate, 
determined  that  their  account  of  the  contents  of  this 
letter  was  better  fitted  to  effect  their  purpose  than 
what  was  in  the  letter. 

This  is  a copy  of  the  letter. 

Executive  Department,  Millcdgeville,  19 th  Sept.,  1831. 

Sin, — I received  some  days  ago  your  letter  of  the  7th  inst., 
together  with  various  inclosures  in  relation  to  the  prosecution 
and  failure  to  arrest  Gen.  Charles  Floyd. 

Bad  health  has  prevented  an  earlier  reply.  I understand 

from  your  letter,  that  you  have  pursued  the  direction  of in 

inclosing  the  papers  to  me,  and  that  his  direction  to  you  is  the 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


421 


consequence  of  the  opinion  given  to  him  individually  by  the 
judges,  whilst  they  were  assembled  in  convention  in  this  place. 

Before  I can  form  any  definite  opinion,  or  answer  you  dis- 
tinctly upon  this  subject,  it  will  be  proper  to  understand  the 
reasons  which  induced  the  judges  to  advise  the  course  which 
has  been  pursued,  or  rather  the  opinions  which  have  influenced 
Judge  to  adopt  them,  and  what  he  expects  from  the  Execu- 

tive authority. 

The  Constitution  declares,  that  “ the  Legislative,  Executive, 
and  Judiciary  Departments  of  the  Government  shall  be  distinct, 
and  each  Department  shall  be  confined  to  a separate  body  of 
Magistracy.  And  no  person  or  collection  of  persons,  being  of 
one  of  these  Departments,  shall  exercise  any  power  properly 
attached  to  either  of  the  others,  except  in  the  instances  expressly 
permitted.” 

I am  disposed  to  give  the  most  respectful  consideration  to 

any  suggestion  which  I may  receive  from  Judge , as  to  what 

he  and  the  other  judges  suppose  to  be  my  duty.  So  far,  how- 
ever, as  I can  perceive  from  an  examination  of  the  papers  alone, 
I am  not  aware  that  I have  any  authority  to  interfere  in  the  case. 

Very  respectfully,  yours,  &c., 

George  It.  Gilmer. 

To — , Solicitor-General  of  the  Eastern  circuit. 

Many  persons  were  arrested  by  the  guard,  for  ille- 
gal residence  in  the  Cherokee  territory.  Twelve  were 
indicted,  found  guilty,  and  condemned  to  confinement 
in  the  penitentiary.  When  the  convicts  arrived  in 
Milledgeville,  and  before  any  of  them  were  degraded  by 
being  placed  within  the  penitentiary,  pardon  was  offered 
to  all  who  would  promise  not  again  to  violate  the  laws 
of  the  State ; as  the  following  letters  to  the  keeper 
and  inspectors  of  the  penitentiary  show. 

Executive  Department,  Milledgeville , 22 d Sept.,  1831. 

Sir, — You  are  requested  to  cause  the  persons  lately  con- 
demned in  Gwinnett  County  for  violating  the  laws  of  the  State, 
for  illegal  residence  within  the  Cherokee  country,  not  to  be  re- 


422 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


ceived  into  the  penitentiary,  until  the  record  of  their  convic- 
tions can  be  examined,  and  a decision  made,  whether  they  or 
any  of  them  are  entitled  to  Executive  clemency. 

Very  respectfully,  yours,  &c., 

George  R.  Gilmer. 

Maj.  Philip  Cook, 

P . Keeper  of  the  Penitentiary. 

Executive  Department,  Sept.  22 d,  1831. 

Gentlemen, — I understand  that  a number  of  persons  have 
been  lately  conyicted  in  Gwinnett  County  for  illegal  residence  in 
the  territory  occupied  by  the  Cherokees  Avithin  the  State,  and 
Avill  very  soon  be  placed  Avithin  the  penitentiary,  unless  they 
shall  be  considered  proper  subjects  for  the  exercise  of  Executive 
clemency.  As  it  is  probable  that  some  of  these  persons  may 
have  committed  the  offence  of  Avliich  they  have  been  conA’icted, 
under  mistaken  opinions  of  duty,  or  of  the  powers  of  the  Govern- 
ment ; I am  desirous  of  pardoning  such  of  them  as  may  have 
thus  acted,  and  Avill  noAV  give  assurances  that  they  Avill  not  again 
violate  the  laws  of  the  State. 

You  are  requested  to  see  each  of  the  prisoners,  converse  Avith 
them  alone,  and  ascertain  from  them,  whether  they  are  disposed 
to  promise  not  again  to  offend  against  the  laws,  if  they  should 
be  pardoned.  You  are  also  requested  to  ascertain  as  accurately 
as  you  can,  what  has  been  the  general  character  of  each  of  the 
convicts,  and  the  motives  which  have  influenced  their  opposition 
to  the  authority  of  the  State.  The  result  of  your  inquiries,  and 
conversations,  you  will  oblige  me  by  communicating  as  early  as 
convenient. 

Yery  respectfully,  yours,  See., 

George  R.  Gilmer. 

The  Inspectors  of  the  Penitentiary. 

The  Methodist  clergyman  Avho  was  stationed  at  the 
time  in  Milledgeville,  waited  upon  the  convicts,  and 
urged  the  propriety  of  accepting  the  offers  of  pardon 
upon  the  terms  made  by  the  Governor. 

The  following  letters  to  the  commander  of  the 
guard,  exhibit  the  spirit  of  my  entire  conduct  to  the 
missionaries  among  the  Cherokees. 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


423 


Executive  Department,  Milledgeville,  23 d Sept.,  1831. 

Sir, — I am  assured  by  Benjamin  F.  Thompson,  one  of  the 
persons  who  has  been  pardoned  for  illegal  residence  in  the  terri- 
tory occupied  by  the  Cherokees,  that  he  has  a brother,  John 
Thompson,  who  has  not  been  arrested,  and  who  will  now  remove 
from  the  territory.  He  wishes  to  do  so  without  arrest.  You 
will  give  him  that  permission,  if  done  immediately.  You  will 
arrest  no  one  for  illegal  residence  after  he  has  left  the  territory. 
Those  who  continue  obstinately  to  remain  contrary  to  law,  you 
will  spare  no  exertions  to  arrest.  They  have  had  sufficient  warn- 
ing, and  if  they  will  not  profit  by  it,  they  ought  to  suffer. 

Very  respectfully,  yours,  &c., 

George  R.  Gilmer. 

Col.  John  W.  A.  Sanford. 

Executive  Department,  Milledgeville,  23 d Sept,  1831. 

Sir, — All  of  the  prisoners  who  were  lately  convicted  of 
illegal  residence  within  the  Cherokee  territory,  at  Gwinnett 
Superior  Court,  have  been  pardoned,  except  Worcester  and 
Butler,  upon  their  giving  assurances  that  they  will  not  again 
violate  the  law.  I am  entirely  satisfied  of  their  sincerity  in  this 
matter.  The  State  has  no  object  to  effect,  by  punishing  persons 
whose  examples  are  not  calculated  to  operate  upon  others.  All 
persons  must  now  perceive,  that  the  State  intends  to  exercise  its 
jurisdiction  over  its  territory,  and  that  resistance  on  the  part  of 
individuals  is  folly. 

The  prisoners  who  have  been  pardoned,  and  have  families 
(and  all  have  except  DeLesure),  inform  me  that  they  will  im- 
mediately proceed  to  remove  them  out  of  the  territory  occupied 
by  the  Cherokees.  Those  who  have  plantations  (and  all  have 
except  DeLesure  and  Trott)  say,  that  it  is  important  to  them, 
that  they  should  have  the  liberty  of  passing  into  the  territory 
occasionally,  for  the  purpose  of  saving  and  disposing  of  their 
crops,  and  selling  and  removing  their  cattle.  You  are  directed 
to  allow  them  the  liberty  which  they  ask  for,  and  to  instruct  the 
guard  accordingly. 

Very  respectfully,  yours,  &c., 

George  R.  Gilmer. 


Col.  John  W.  A.  Sanford. 


424 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


Worcester  and  Butler,  who  were  acting  under  the 
direction  of  some  missionary  board  at  the  North,  re- 
fused to  be  the  subjects  of  the  offered  clemency,  and 
voluntarily  went  into  the  penitentiary. 

No  official  act  of  mine  produced  so  much  abuse  at 
the  time,  or  was  so  little  understood,  as  the  punishment 
of  religious  missionaries  by  imprisonment  in  the  peni- 
tentiary. An  impression  was  made  upon  the  public 
out  of  Georgia,  that  ministers  of  the  gospel  were  thus 
punished  for  making  efforts  to  christianize  the  Che- 
rokees.  The  subject  excited  great  interest  through- 
out the  country.  The  newspapers  gave  currency  to  the 
greatest  misrepresentations  of  the  facts.  Georgia  peo- 
ple travelling  in  other  States,  were  every  where  sub- 
jected to  the  mortification  of  listening  to  the  most 
malignant  strictures  upon  the  conduct  of  the  authori- 
ties of  the  State,  and  particularly  its  Governor,  who 
was  specially  abused  by  name. 

In  North  Carolina  where  all  the  facts  ought  to  have 

O 

been  known,  the  Presbyterian  Synod  passed  a strongly 
condemnatory  resolution  of  my  conduct. 

At  a Presbytery  held  in  the  county  of  Rocking- 
ham, Virginia,  the  birth-place  of  my  father  and  mother, 
and  where  many  of  my  immediate  relations  then  re- 
sided, a Presbyterian  clergyman  proposed  a similar 
resolution,  though  domiciled  in  the  house  of  my  brother- 
in-law,  Mr.  Grattan,  and  might  have  succeeded,  but  for 
Dr.  Speece,  a special  friend  of  my  wife  and  myself,  who 
took  upon  himself  to  lie  answerable  for  the  propriety 
of  my  conduct. 

Travelling  through  North  Carolina  the  summer 
after  I left  the  Executive  office,  I stopped  to  get  dinner 
at  a house  between  Charlotte  and  Salisbury.  The  land- 
lord abused  very  freely  the  tyranny  of  the  Governor 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


425 


of  Georgia,  for  liis  conduct  in  putting  ministers  of  the 
gospel  into  the  penitentiary  for  preaching.  I explained 
to  him  what  had  been  done  by  the  Governor.  The 
old  man  said  it  was  impossible  that  what  I said  could 
be  true,  and  would  not  believe  me  until  I told  him  that 
I was  the  person  lie  had  been  abusing,  and  knew  all 
about  the  matter.  His  face  would  have  made  a good 
picture  just  then,  for  this  confounded  him. 

It  was  very  painful  to  know  that  I was  an  object 
of  dislike  to  great  numbers  of  my  fellow-beings,  es- 
pecially as  many  of  those  who  thus  felt  towards  me, 
were  distinguished  for  their  benevolence.  The  follow- 
ing circumstance  made  a strong  impression  upon  me 
at  the  time. 

David  B.  Ogden  of  New  York,  attended  the  session 
of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  in  1854. 
I ivas  then  a member  of  Congress.  We  boarded  at  the 
same  house.  When  he  first  came  into  the  mess,  and 
for  some  time  after,  he  appeared  disposed  to  keep  aloof 
from  me,  though  naturally  very  social.  Before  he  left 
Washington  City  we  became  quite  intimate.  I liked 
him  very  much,  which  he  appeared  to  reciprocate 
warmly.  The  day  after  he  left  Washington  City,  he 
wrote  to  me  from  Philadelphia,  expressing  great  friend- 
ship for  me,  and  saying  that  he  could  scarcely  forgive 
himself  for  his  dislike,  previous  to  our  acquaintance, 
arising  from  the  strong  impressions  which  newspapers 
and  other  statements,  in  relation  to  my  conduct  to  the 
Indians  and  missionaries,  had  made  upon  him.  Mr. 
Ogden  intended  by  his  letter  to  give  me  pleasure.  Its 
elfect  was  very  distressing.  I had  not  been  aware, 
that  sensible,  well  informed  and  good  men,  had  viewed 
my  conduct  through  the  same  prejudiced  medium  as 
the  ignorant,  or  that  the  organs  for  diffusing  informa- 


426 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


tion  at  tlie  North,  and  in  the  Middle  States,  had  re- 
fused or  neglected  to  publish  any  of  the  official  docu- 
ments, or  other  matters,  tending  to  set  public  opinion 
right  upon  the  subject. 

A large  delegation  of  the  Cherokees  were  in  Wash- 
ington City  after  Mr.  Ogden  left  there.  They  were 
endeavoring  to  obtain  an  extension  of  their  territory  on 
the  west  of  the  Mississippi.  I called  to  see  John  Ross 
and  the  other  chiefs,  to  understand  their  wishes  and  to 
state  to  them  my  information  about  the  country  which 
had  been  assigned  to  them.  John  Ross  replied  to  me, 
that  they  had  as  much  confidence  in  me  as  any  other 
public  man ; that  they  had  received  as  much  kindness 
and  protection  from  me  when  Governor  as  was  possible 
for  one  in  my  situation  to  give  them ; and  that  if  I 
would  visit  the  territory,  and  would  then  say  that  it 
was  wffiat  the  agent  of  the  Government  had  represented 
it  to  be,  he  would  make  no  further  contest  about  it. 

Whilst  I was  in  the  Executive  Department,  in  the 
spring  of  1838,  several  Indians,  among  them  two  or 
three  women,  came  to  Milledgeville  to  ask  my  assist- 
ance in  procuring  for  them  an  infant  child,  the  daughter 
of  one  of  the  women,  who  had  been  carried  off  secretly 
from  its  mother,  by  a white  man,  and  concealed  in  the 
country  some  distance  south  of  Milledgeville.  The 
Cherokees  were  then  on  their  way  to  their  new  country 
beyond  the  Mississippi.  Cherokee  women  inherit  pro- 
perty equally  with  the  men.  This  child  was  entitled 
to  considerable  property,  which  the  white  man  wished 
to  obtain  possession  of  and  keep  in  Georgia. 

I ascertained  where  the  child  was,  wrote  letters  to 
the  neighborhood,  and  instructed  the  mother  how  she 
was  to  act  to  get  possession  of  her  child.  She  pursued 
my  directions,  succeeded,  and  brought  her  little 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


427 


daughter  to  my  house,  where  she  was  dressed  by  Mrs. 
Gilmer,  the  party  entertained,  and  sent  on  their  way 
home  rejoicing. 

Some  time  after  the  laws  of  Georgia  were  extended 
over  the  Indians,  a set  of  knavish  white  men  among 
them  attempted  to  get  possession  of  the  property  of 
their  wealthy  Indian  neighbors  by  forging  notes,  and 
suing  them  in  the  justices’  courts,  then  established  in 
different  parts  of  the  Cherokee  country.  By  the  laws 
of  the  State,  an  Indian  could  not  be  a witness  in  a suit 
to  which  a white  man  was  a party.  Information  was 
given  me  of  these  attempts  to  oppress  the  Indians.  I 
wrote  a circular  to  the  magistrates,  advising  them  to 
permit  the  Indians  to  deny  on  oath  the  making  of  the 
notes  upon  which  they  were  sued,  so  as  to  put  the 
plaintiffs  to  the  proof  of  their  signatures  : That  such 
an  oath  was  a form  of  pleading,  and  not  considered  in 
law  as  evidence.  My  advice  was  followed,  and  with 
success. 

The  conduct  of  the  State  in  extending  its  jurisdic- 
tion over  the  Indians  excited  so  much  animadversion  at 
the  time  when  the  facts  which  led  to  that  policy  were 
unknown,  that  great  injustice  was  done  to  her  public 
authorities.  What  was  done  continued  to  be  snoken 

JL 

of  and  written  about  without  any  knowledge  of  the 
truth,  and  in  the  most  abusive  terms.  And  yet  every 
one  is  now  obliged  to  acknowledge  that  the  policy  of 
Georgia  has  tended  to  the  improvement  and  happiness 
of  the  Cherokees.  That  policy  was  expressly  based 
upon  the  conviction  that  such  would  be  the  result. 
All  now  admit  that  the  public  men  of  Georgia  showed 
their  wisdom  in  what  they  did,  and  their  slanderers 
their  folly.  Motives  were  scanned,  and  those  who 
knew  nothing  of  the  peculiar  state  of  the  Cherokee 


428 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


people,  passed  judgment  of  condemnation  upon  the  con- 
duct of  those  who  had  the  means,  and  whose  duty  it 
was  to  understand  it  well.  It  is  a source  of  pride  and 
pleasure  to  those  who  were  responsible  for  the  conduct 
of  Georgia  towards  the  Cherokees,  to  know  that  what 
they  did  has  tended  to  the  good  both  of  the  Indians 
and  Georgians  : That  the  Cherokees,  instead  of  being 
controlled  in  their  public  affairs,  and  corrupted  in  their 
morals,  by  profligate  white  men,  as  they  were  when 
within  the  limits  of  Georgia,  are  now  in  a country  the 
best  suited  to  their  peculiar  instincts  and  habits  of  liv- 
ing : And  that  the  Georgians  have  already  converted 
the  Cherokee  hunting  grounds  into  the  most  beautiful, 
highly  cultivated,  and  populous  region  of  the  South. 
For  the  information  of  those  who  may  desire  to  know 
something  more  upon  this  subject  than  is  found  in  this 
exposition  of  mine,  I insert  here  a paper  published  at  the 
time  of  the  transactions  referred  to,  containing  statements 
from  two  distinguished  members  of  the  Georgia  Legis- 
lature, Mr.  Nesbitt,  Maj.  Stocks,  and  the  editor  of  the 
leading  paper  of  the  State,  Mr.  Camak.  Maj.  Stocks 
had  been  for  a long  time  President  of  the  Senate,  Mr. 
Camak  was  some  time  previously  a professor  in  Frank- 
lin College,  and  Mr.  Nesbitt  is  now  a Judge  of  the 
Supreme  Court  of  the  State. 

THE  CHEROKEE  QUESTION. 

Albany,  *2,0th  June , 1832. 

Mr.  Croswell, 

Sir, — I was  desirous  that  the  following  article  should  appear 
in  the  New  York  Observer,  as  that  paper  has  peen  particularly 
industrious  in  circulating  statements  to  the  prejudice  of  Georgia. 
Having  been  refused  admission  to  its  columns,  I must  beg  the 
favor  of  you  to  permit  me  to  use  yours. 

If  you  can,  without  inconvenience,  publish  this  note,  together 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


429 


with  the  papers  which  accompany  it,  during  the  approaching 
session  of  your  Legislature,  you  will  confer  a favor  on, 

Sir,  yours,  very  respectfully, 

Jas.  Camak.  ‘ 

To  the  Editor  of  the  N.  Y.  Observer. 

New  York,  June  1,  1S32. 

Sir, — Since  I left  home  I have  conversed  with  many  persons 
on  the  subject  of  the  missionaries  who  are  confined  in  the  peni- 
tentiary of  the  State  of  Georgia.  I have  been  greatly  surprised 
at  the  opinions  entertained  and  expressed,  in  relation  to  the 
course  that  has  been  pursued  by  Georgia ; and  the  more  so,  as 
these  opinions  appear  to  me  to  be  founded  on  an  apprehension  of 
the  facts  of  the  case,  altogether  erroneous. 

To  dispel  error,  and  to  give  to  those  who  sincerely  desire  to  A 
know  the  truth,  an  opportunity  of  gratifying  that  desire,  I request 
the  publication,  in  the  Observer,  of  the  inclosed  document,  and 
the  notes  annexed  thereto.  Permit  me  to  express  the  hope  that 
it  will  be  attentively  read,  and  patiently  examined. 

In  the  Baptist  convention  lately  held  in  this  city,  the  writer 
of  this  article  is  informed,  that  the  question  concerning  these 
missionaries  was  agitated.  Mr.  Stocks,  president  of  the  senate 
of  Georgia,  being  one  of  the  delegates,  had  the  report  and  notes 
printed  and  circulated  among  the  members  of  the  convention. 
The  result  was  an  unanimous  vote  in  favor  of  Georgia,  as  the 
writer  has  been  informed. 

The  author  of  the  report,  E.  A.  Nesbitt,  of  Morgan  County, 
is  a member  of  the  Presbyterian  church ; and,  as  a jurist,  a man 
and  a Christian,  he  will  not  suffer  any  thing  by  a comparison 
with  any  man  of  his  age  in  the  country.  The  author  of  the  notes 
is  a distinguished  member  of  the  Baptist  church  ; and  has  been, 
for  many  years,  president  of  the  senate  of  Georgia — the  second 
officer  in  the  State  government. 

As  to  the  right  of  Georgia  to  extend  her  laws  over  the  Cher- 
okee territory,  the  writer  refers  confidently  to  the  report,  to  the 
note  (a),  and  to  the  treaty  between  the  government  of  Georgia 
and  the  government  of  the  United  States,  in  1802.  So  also  does 
he  refer  to  the  report  as  to  the  expediency  of  such  a measure, 


430 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


on  the  part  of  Georgia  ; but  more  particularly  to  the  note  mark- 
ed ( b ) as  containing  a statement  of  fact,  among  many  others  of  a 
like  character  that  might  have  been  made,  the  force  of  which, 
he  thinks,  is  irresistible. 

Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

Jas.  Camak, 

Of  Milledgeville,  Georgia. 

Report  of  the  Committee  on  the  State  of  the  Republic , presented 
to  the  Legislature  of  Georgia,  December  15,  1831. 

The  committee,  to  whom  was  referred  so  much  of  his  excel- 
lency the  Governor’s  communication  as  relates  to  the  enforcement 
of  the  law,  making  it  penal,  under  certain  restrictions,  for  white 
persons  to  reside  within  the  limits  of  the  Cherokee  nation, 
together  with  the  documents  in  relation  to  that  subject,  have 
bestowed  upon  the  subject  such  reflection,  and  given  it  such  in- 
vestigation, as  its  importance  merits.  It  does  not  appear  to  your 
committee,  so  far  as  the  people  of  Georgia  are  concerned,  at  all 
necessary  to  enter  into  a defence  of  this  measure  of  the  govern- 
ment. Our  people  with  one  accord,  your  committee  believe, 
approve  both  the  policy  of  the  law  and  the  manner  of  its  enforce- 
ment. The  policy  of  the  State  towards  the  Cherokee  tribe  of 
Indians,  in  regard  to  the  unsettled  lands  within  her  limits,  and 
particularly  in  reference  to  the  missionaries  who  have  made 
themselves  obnoxious  to  the  penalty  of  the  act  of  the  last  legis- 
lature, has  been  and  still  is  already  [abroad]  the  subject  of  mis- 
representation, and  the  theme  of  vituperation.  We  have  been 
represented  as  usurping  rights  which  belong  to  the  Indians,  as 
exercising  dominion  over  a people  free  and  independent,  and  as 
disregarding  the  sacred  character  and  holy  functions  of  the  mis- 
sionaries of  the  cross.  A regard  to  the  moral  sense  of  the  people 
of  the  Union,  and  a just  respect  to  the  character  of  the  State, 
your  committee  believe,  require  that,  upon  this  subject,  facts 
should  be  exhibited,  and  the  principles  of  action  which  have 
governed  the  State  should  be  well  understood. 

By  a law  of  the  State,  passed  at  the  last  session  of  the  General 
Assembly,  all  white  persons,  except  agents  of  the  United  States, 
are  prohibited  from  residing  within  its  territory  occupied  by  the 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


431 


Cherokees,  unless  authorized  by  license  from  the  Governor  or  his 
agent,  upon  taking  an  oath  to  support  the  constitution  and  laws 
of  this  State.  The  right  of  the  State  to  pass  this  law,  results  as 
a necessary  consequence  to  the  right  which  she  has  to  the  soil, 
and  jurisdiction  over  the  Cherokee  lands.  Her  right  of  juris- 
diction is  co-extensive  with  her  chartered  limits,  and  embraces 
the  persons  and  things  within  those  limits.  No  enlightened 
jurist  of  the  present  day  ; no  one  familiar  with  the  custom  which 
has  governed  all  the  States  of  the  Union  who  have  had  Indian 
tribes  within  their  limits  (a) ; or  who  is  conversant  with  the 
policy  of  the  federal  government,  since  the  administration  of 
Mr.  Monroe,  will  for  a moment  doubt  the  right  of  the  State  to 
extend  her  criminal  laws  over  the  whole  of  her  chartered  limits. 
This  is  not  a vexed  question.  At  all  events,  its  elucidation  does 
not  constitute  a part  of  the  duty  of  your  committee  upon  the 
present  occasion. 

( b ) The  reason  and  necessity  of  the  law  are  as  obvious  as  the 
right  to  enact  it.  A leading  object  with  the  general  government 
has  been,  for  many  years,  the  removal  of  the  Cherokee  Indians 
west  of  the  Mississippi.  This  has  been  held  by  the  most  benev- 
olent, and  also  the  most  distinguished  of  our  statesmen,  the  only 
means  left  to  the  government  to  save  the  wretched  remnants  of 
this  once  numerous  and  powerful  nation  from  moral  ruin  as  indi- 
viduals, and  total  extinction  as  a tribe.  Year  after  year,  the 
tribes  within  the  States  have  been  seen  to  decrease  in  numbers, 
and  to  sink  lower  and  lower  in  crime,  depravity  and  sin.  The 
parental  arm  of  the  government  has  been  extended  to  their  relief, 
and  the  federal  and  state  governments  have  united  their  efforts 
to  remove  them  from  their  present  habitations,  and  locate  them 

beyond  the  Mississippi. There,  under  the  protection  of  the 

government,  and  free  alike  from  the  crimes  and  the  cupidity  of 
the  white  man,  to  live  in  their  own  peculiar  way,  the  happy  and 
lordly  masters  of  the  forest. 

It  was  an  object  of  peculiar  interest  to  Georgia,  to  acquire  a 
speedy  possession  of  her  Cherokee  lands.  Too  long  had  the 
government  delayed  to  liquidate  the  Indian  possession.  She  had 
become  justly  jealous  of  her  rights,  and  her  people  had  become 
impatient  of  the  restraints  imposed  by  the  delay  of  the  federal 
government  to  fulfil  her  treaty  obligations.  The  Cherokee  tribe 


432 


FIKST  SETTLEKS  OP  UPPEB  GEOKGIA. 


had  assumed  the  attitude  of  an  independent  nation,  with  govern- 
ment and  laws  distinct  from,  and  independent  of  the  State 
authority.  The  discovery  of  immense  mineral  wealth  within  the 
limits  of  the  nation,  acting  upon  the  avarice  and  cupidity  of  men, 
had  brought  into  the  territory  a numerous  body  of  men,  lawless, 
abandoned,  and  hostile  to  the  policy  of  the  State,  (c)  These  cir- 
cumstances imperiously  asked  of  the  State  decisive  and  prompt 
action ; and  on  these  accounts  she  enacted  laws,  abrogating  the 
Cherokee  government,  making#  it  penal  to  dig  gold,  and  punishing 
a resident  within  the  territory,  unless  the  resident  would  take 
an  oath  to  observe  the  constitution  and  laws  of  the  State.  The 
exclusion  of  all  white  persons  from  the  Cherokee  lands  was  the 
dictate  of  policy  and  necessity.  It  was  well  ascertained  that  the 
efforts  of  whites  resident  in  the  nation  were  directed  to  a preven- 
tion of  the  removal  of  the  Indians.  They  dissuaded  the  Indians 
from  emigrating,  encouraged  them  in  their  ideas  of  independence, 
misrepresented  the  policy  and  intents  of  the  government,  and 
thwarted  by  all  the  means  within  their  power,  the  views  of  the 
State.  It  became  necessary,  therefore,  that  the  State  should 
abandon  her  policy,  and  cease  her  efforts  to  remove  the  Indians, 
or  rid  herself  of  the  selfish  and  corrupt  whites  who  had  settled 
among  them.  Hence  the  passage  of  the  act  making  it  penal  to 
reside  within  the  limits  of  the  land  occupied  by  the  Cherokees, 
without  a license,  and  without  taking  an  oath  to  observe  the  con- 
stitution and  laws  of  the  State.  The  oath  and  the  license,  it 
was  thought,  would  be  a sufficient  protection  of  the  policy  of  the 
State,  from  any  attempts  to  defeat  it  by  such  as  might  think 
proper  to  remain.  To  such  as  were  well  disposed  to  the  benev- 
olent views  of  the  State,  the  oath  would  be  no  stumbling-block, 
whilst  it  would  exclude  such  as  were  hostile  to  her  interests  and 
her  policy.  And  the  fact  of  permitting  a residence  there,  upon 
such  terms,  proves  conclusively  that  the  law  was  intended  to 
operate  upon  such  only  as  were  defeating  the  great  objects  of 
the  State.  Removal  of  the  whites  was  not  so  much  desired,  as 
the  destruction  of  that  influence  which  was  at  war  with  the  in- 
terest of  Georgia. 

It  is  worthy  of  remark,  that  the  federal  government,  acting 
u in  loco  'parentis  ” to  the  Indians,  delegated  to  her  Indian  agents 
more  power  over  whites,  resident  in  the  nation,  than  Georgia 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


433 


seeks  to  exercise,  in  the  enforcement  of  her  law.  They  were  in- 
structed, by  order  from  the  War  Department,  in  the  following 
words:  “ You  are  to  allow  no  white  person  to  enter  and  settle 
on  the  Indian  lands  within  your  agency,  who  shall  not,  on  en- 
tering. present  to  you  approved  testimonials  of  his  good  character 
for  industry,  honesty  and  sobriety ; nor  then,  without  the  consent 
of  the  Indians.  And  if,  after  permission  is  given  under  such 
testimonials,  the  person  or  persons  to  whom  it  is  given  shall  be- 
come lazy,  dishonest,  intemperate,  or  in  any  way  setting  vicious 
examples  before  the  Indians,  exciting  them  against  each  other, 
or  inflaming  their  jealousy  and  susp  icion  against  the  general 
government , or  any  of  its  acts  towards  them , or  attempting  to 
degrade  in  their  eyes  the  agents  of  the  government,  thereby  de- 
stroying their  influence  over  the  Indians  by  false  accusations  or 
otherwise,  you  will  forthwith  order  such  person  or  persons  out 
of  the  Indian  country.”  It  is  here  seen,  that  Georgia,  in  her 
sovereign  character,  and  in  the  exercise  of  an  indubitable  right,, 
has  scarcely  assumed  as  much  power  over  these  persons,  as  the 
federal  government  thought  proper  to  commit  to  her  agents,  who 
were  to  a great  extent  irresponsible.  Both  governments  had 
mainly  in  view  the  same  object,  in  the  suppression  of  any  influ- 
ence among  the  Indians  adverse  to  their  benevolent  designs  to- 
wards them  ; and  yet,  not  a few  of  those  who  admit  and  justify 
the  measures  of  the  general  government,  condemn  and  reprobate 
the  law  of  this  State.  Your  committee  are  of  opinion  that  when 
this  matter  is  understood,  it  will  be  admitted  that  all  wThich 
Georgia  has  done  was  made  necessary  in  order  to  effect  the  re- 
moval of  the  Indians. 

Let  those,  too,  who  clamor  so  much  about  Indian  rights,  and 
who  weep  so  much  over  Indian  sufferings,  know,  that  this  law 
was  necessary  to  the  protection  of  the  persons  and  property  of 
the  Indians,  from  the  violence,  the  intrigues,  and  the  corruptions 
of  the  whites.  Here  it  is  well  understood,  that  white  men  are 
the  greatest  enemies  to  the  Indians,  whether  in  the  character  of 
the  selfish,  avaricious,  and  ambitious  resident  within  their  limits, 
or  the  character  of  the  political  knave,  or  canting  fanatic  without 
their  limits.  At  no  time  have  Indian  rights  been  better  pro- 
tected, and  at  no  time  has  the  Cherokee  tribe  exhibited  more 
evidence  of  peace,  quiet,  and  protection,  than  since  the  extension 
28 


434 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


of  our  laws  over  them.  The  Georgia  jurisdiction  has  been  their 
shield.  Not  only  so,  but  the  law  excluding  the  whites,  was  in- 
tended to  extend,  and  does  now  extend,  protection  to  those  who 
are  willing  to  evade  its  penalties,  by  complying  with  its  terms. 
The  laws  and  character  of  the  State  are  a guarantee  to  such  of 
more  right  than  they  ever  enjoyed  there.  By  a strange  perver- 
sion of  principle,  or  a wretched  ignorance  of  facts,  a mild  and 
benevolent  policy  has  been  corrupted  into  the  veriest  despotism  ; 
and  that  law,  which  created  a right  for  the  white  man  in  the 
Cherokee  country  which  he  had  not  before,  and  protected  him 
in  the  enjoyment  of  it,  has  been  denounced  as  arbitrary,  unjust, 
and  unholy.  At  no  time,  under  the  intercourse  laws,  have  the 
Indians  been  so  effectually  protected,  and  at  so  little  cost,  as 
under  the  laws  of  Georgia.  Your  committee  have  said,  that  the 
act  of  the  General  Assembly  was  necessary  to  carry  into  effect 
the  benign  policy  of  the  State,  in  reference  to  the  Indians ; that 
it  operated  as  a protection  to  them  from  the  rapacity  and  violence 
of  the  whites ; and  that,  so  far  from  its  being  an  unwarrantable 
proscription  of  them,  it  actually  conferred  privileges  which,  of 
right,  they  have  not  before  possessed.  The  latter  position  is  made 
manifest  by  adverting  to  the  fact,  that  before  the  passage  of  the 
act,  no  white  citizen  could  claim  his  residence  there  as  a matter 
of  right ; but  the  moment  he  complied  with  the  reasonable  re- 
quisitions of  the  law,  he  became  ipso  facto  entitled  to  such 
residence,  and  all  the  benefits  it  conferred.  It  is  true,  that 
many  were  upon  the  soil  at  the  moment  of  passing  the  act ; but 
their  residence  was  assumed,  and  only  tolerated  by  the  State : 
they  were  only  residents  at  the  sufferance  of  the  State.  The 
missionaries  themselves  will  not  deny  but  that  their  condition 
in  the  Cherokee  nation,  under  the  jurisdiction  of  Georgia,  was 
greatly  preferable  to  what  it  was  under  the  dominion  of  the 
agents  of  the  United  States. 

The  law  which  has  excited  so  much  feeling  among  our  breth- 
ren of  the  Eastern  States,  is  not  partial  or  exclusive  in  its  oper- 
ation. The  first  citizen  of  Georgia,  the  most  abandoned  of  the 
refugee  adventurers  for  gold,  as  well  as  the  meek  and  law-abiding 
Moravian  missionary,  are  within  its  provisions — all  classes,  all 
grades,  and  all  professions,  are  alike  liable  to  its  penalties.  Our 
law  in  this,  as  well  as  all  [other]  cases,  aims  at  no  individual  or 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


435 


individuals,  and  recognizes  no  exemptions ; and  had  the  most 
talented  or  the  most  dignified  of  our  sons  resided  within  the 
limits  of  our  lands  in  the  possession  of  the  Cherokee  Indians, 
without  having  taken  the  oath,  the  law  would  have  been  adminis- 
tered  upon  such  a one  with  unsparing  rigor  and  unrelenting 
severity.  Your  committee,  therefore,  declare  that  no  objection 
can  be  urged  against  the  State,  with  any  propriety,  upon  the 
score  of  its  inequality,  for  the  State  made  all  men  “ equal  under 
the  law.” 

The  law  of  the  last  Legislature,  herein  adverted  to,  did  not, 
according  to  its  provisions,  take  effect  immediately.  The  com- 
mencement of  its  operation  was  fixed  at  a time  sufficiently  remote 
to  put  all  persons  interested  upon  their  guard ; and  ample  oppor- 
tunity was  afforded  for  a knowledge  of  its  existence  and  of  its 
provisions.  No  man  wTas  entrapped;  and  all  who  offended 
against  it,  sinned  against  the  authority  of  the  State,  with  a per- 
fect knowledge  of  the  consequences.  Most  of  those  persons  who 
were  residents  in  the  Cherokee  country,  either  removed  from  the 
State,  or  submitted  to  the  requirements  of  the  law  ( d ).  The 
board  of  directors  of  the  United  Brethren’s  mission  at  Salem, 
believing  that  the  object  of  their  mission  to  the  Cherokees, 
under  the  peculiar  circumstances  of  the  State  and  the  Indians, 
could  not  be  effected,  instructed  their  missionaries  to  remove 
from  the  country.  Acting,  as  your  committee  believe,  from  a 
sense  of  respect  to  the  laws  and  authorities  of  Georgia,  they 
were  unwilling  to  interfere  with  her  laws  or  her  policy.  In  the 
conduct  of  these  unobtrusive  and  devoted  missionaries  of  the 
cross,  is  exhibited  in  bold  relief  the  pure  and  sublime  principles 
of  our  holy  religion.  Some  there  were,  however,  who  refused  to 
remove  from  our  limits,  and  who  refused  to  comply  with  the 
conditions  of  residence  prescribed  in  the  law.  These  individuals 
were  either  missionaries,  or  persons  who  were  under  their 
influence,  and  acted  under  their  advisement.  The  most  con- 
spicuous and  talented  of  these  individuals,  are  the  Rev.  S. 
Worcester  and  Dr.  E.  Butler,  missionaries  of  the  American 
Board  of  Foreign  Missions. 

These  persons  had  long  been  conversant  with  the  policy  of 
the  general  government,  and  with  the  rights  a£  well  as  the  laws 
of  Georgia.  The  law,  to  whose  penalty  they  became  obnoxious, 


436 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


was  known  to  them.  The  law  had  raised,  within  their  hearing, 
its  warning  voice,  and  admonished  them  of  their  duty  ; hut  the 
Governor  of  the  State,  reluctant  to  enforce  upon  them  the  penalty 
of  the  law,  respecting  their  sacred  profession,  and  respecting 
still  more  the  most  holy  cause  in  which  they  were  engaged, 
kindly  and  politely,  and  in  the  spirit  of  forbearance,  warned 
them  yet  again  of  their  crime,  and  invited  them  away  from 
their  own  ruin.  A personal  address  was  made  to  each  of  them 
by  his  excellency,  and  ten  days  given  for  their  removal — all  this 
did  not  avail.  They  not  only  persisted  in  their  illegal  residence, 
hut  ventured  upon  the  justification  of  their  crime  in  an  address 
to  the  executive  of  the  State.  Orders  were  then  given  to  arrest 
them,  that  they  might  feel  the  full  penalty  of  our  laws,  “ since 
such  was  their  voluntary  choice.”  They  were  arrested,  tried, 
and  convicted,  and  now,  inmates  of  the  state  prison,  they  suffer 
the  melancholy  doom  which  their  perverse  obstinacy  or  mis- 
guided zeal  has  brought  upon  them. 

What  reproach  could  he  cast  upon  the  State  for  their  con- 
viction, and  what  justfication  or  extenuation  can  he  had  for  their 
violation  of  the  laws  of  the  State?  None.  No  man  would  hesi- 
tate to  pronounce  them  the  wilful  perpetrators  of  their  own  mis- 
fortunes. If  it  he  said  that  they  were  residents  upon  those 
lands  by  permission  of  the  United  States’  government,  and 
therefore  the  State  had  no  right  to  punish  them ; your  com- 
mittee answer,  that  the  government  of  the  United  States  has  no 
power  to  bestow  a right  which  is  adverse  to  the  rights  of  Georgia, 
and  that  this  permission  was  good  to  them  so  long  as  the  State 
acquiesced  in  it,  and  no  longer  (e) ; and  the  enacting  of  the  law, 
making  the  residence  criminal,  is  a declaration  of  the  State’s 
dissent  to  it.  If  it  is  said  that  their  residence  was  by  permission 
of  the  Indians,  and  therefore  the  State  could  not  make  it  penal, 
— your  committee  answer,  the  Indians,  it  is  true,  have  a right 
of  occupancy ; but  this  right  of  occupancy  is  personal  to  them- 
selves, and  cannot  be  by  them  delegated  to  any  person  what- 
ever ; therefore  their  consent  to  a residence  is  no  justification. 
The  ultimate  fee  to  the  lands  is  in-  Georgia ; and  so  far  as 
Georgia  and  all  the  world  (except  the  Indians)  is  concerned,  she 
is  the  absolute  unqualified  owner.  As  your  committee  before 
remarked,  the  right  of  jurisdiction  is  in  Georgia,  and  of  conse- 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


437 


quence  there  is  no  limit  to  her  right  of  penal  enactment.  The 
State  owned  the  lands,  and  it  was  perfectly  competent  for  her 
to  prescribe  such  terms  to  residence  upon  them  as  she  deemed 
fit  and  expedient.  It  will  not  be  denied  that  the  State  has  the 
right  to  prescribe  such  conditions  to  a residence  upon  the  State- 
house  square  in  the  town  of  Milledgeville,  as  she  may  think  fit. 
So  far  as  all  the  world  (except  the  Indians)  is  concerned,  there 
is  no  difference  between  the  title  which  the  State  has  to  her 
State-house  square,  and  her  title  to  the  Cherokee  lands.  In 
either  case  the  grant  is  in  her,  and  can  never  be  divested  but  by 
her  own  act.  If  it  is  said  that  the  State  did  require  the  mission- 
aries to  take  an  oath  which  in  conscience  they  could  not  take, 
or  suffer  the  penalty  of  the  law ; your  committee  answer,  that 
the  State  involved  the  missionaries  in  no  such  desperate 
dilemma.  If  the  oath  was  taken,  it  was  a voluntary  act,  and  the 
oath  could  have  been  avoided  by  removal  from  our  limits  (/).  If 
the  penalty  was  suffered  it  was  a voluntary  act,  which  might 
have  been  avoided  either  by  taking  the  oath,  or  removing  from 
the  limits.  The  missionaries  were  left  free  to  choose  between 
the  oath,  the  penalty  of  the  law,  and  removal ; and  they  chose 
the  penalty  of  the  law.  Why  then  should  the  State  be  censured 
for  an  act,  which  was  the  result  of  choice  on  the  part  of  the  mis- 
sionaries ; and  which  your  committee  fear  was  *sought  by  them, 
either  for  the  purposes  of  political  effect,  or  to  exhibit  themselves 
to  a sympathizing  fraternity,  as  sufferers  for  righteousness’  sake? 

They  surely  cannot  claim  for  themselves  exemption  from  the 
operation  of  the  laws  of  the  State  by  reason  of  their  pro- 
fession or  their  vocation.  The  laws  of  Georgia  interfere  not 
with  the  religious  privileges,  or  conscientious  opinions  of  men  ; 
and  the  State  lends  her  aid  to  all  efforts  for  the  dissemination 
of  the  truths  of  revelation : she  is  the  auxiliary  of  the  mis- 
sionary, in  teaching  the  heathen  the  great  truths  of  Christianity  ; 
and  her  constitution  and  laws  are  based  upon  the  principles  and 
doctrines  of  Him  who  spake  as  never  man  spake.  Still  the  law 
is  no  respecter  of  persons  : and  he  who  violates  it,  whether  Jew 
or  Gentile,  Christian  or  Infidel,  Mahometan  or  Pagan,  must  ex- 
pect to  meet  its  sanctions,  and  feel  its  penalties.  It  is  for  the 
missionaries  to  reconcile  their  precepts  with  their  practice,  and 
to  prove  to  the  world  that  the  religion  which  they  profess  allows, 


488 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


much  less  encourages,  disobedience  to  laws,  insubordination,  and 
resistance  to  the  powers  that  be.  It  remains  for  them  to  show 
that  resistance  to  rightful  civil  authority  is  either  a Christian 
duty,  or  a Christian  privilege ; that  things  which  are  Caesar’s 
are  not  to  be  rendered  to  Caesar  ; and  that  conscientious  scruples 
can  defeat  the  operation  of  laws,  or  stay  the  hand  of  government. 
If  the  opinion  of  every  subject,  as  to  the  constitutionality  of  the 
laws  under  which  he  lives,  can  exempt  him  from  their  operation, 
then  is  government  a mockery,  and  lawgivers,  judges,  and 
governors,  the  merest  toys  to  be  sported  with  according  to  the 
whims  and  caprices  of  individuals.  In  the  letters  of  these  indi- 
viduals to  the  Governor,  the  reason  of  their  refusal  to  obey  the 
laws  of  Georgia,  is  assigned  to  be  that  they  did  not  believe  the 
State  had  the  right  of  jurisdiction  over  the  country;  and 
believing  as  they  did,  they  could  not  do  violence  to  their  con- 
sciences by  taking  the  oath.  Your  committee  believe  that 
scruples  as  to  the  oath  should  have  removed  all  scruples  as  to  their 
duty  to  remove.  They  cannot  deny  the  right  of  all  men  to 
judge  for  themselves  of  the  constitutionality  or  propriety  of  any 
law ; but  it  is  a new  idea,  that  the  law,  as  to  such  a one  so 
judging,  is  to  fail  of  its  effect  and  become  a nullity.  Those  who 
do  assume  this  original,  natural  right,  and  act  upon  it,  as  the 
missionaries  have*  done,  must  expect  to  suffer  as  they  are  suffer- 
ing the  consequences  of  their  rash  judgment. 

The  Rev.  Samuel  A.  Worcester  and  Dr.  Elizur  Butler 
were  warned  of  the  existence  of  the  law  they  have  violated.  They 
were  politely  invited  to  remove,  and  time  given  for  their  removal. 
They  resisted  the  authority  of  the  State,  and  repelled  with  dis- 
dain the  kind  offices  of  the  Governor  in  their  behalf.  They  were 
arrested,  defended  by  enlightened  counsel,  tried  before  a court 
distinguished  for  its  legal  wisdom  and  benevolent  feeling,  and 
convicted  and  sentenced.  Still,  the  authority  of  the  State  fol- 
lowed them  with  anxious  solicitude  to  relieve  them  ; still  kind- 
ness and  mercy  and  forbearance  would  have  stayed  the  execution 
of  the  sentence.  At  the  gate  of  the  penitentiary  they  were  met 
with  the  offer  of  pardon,  upon  the  easy  terms  of  removal  from 
the  territory,  or  taking  the  oath.  This  offer  they  repelled — these 
overtures  of  mercy  they  heeded  not,  and  entered  the  penitentiary ; 
a living  monument  of  fanaticism,  political  knavery,  or  egregious 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


439 


folly.  Notwithstanding  all  these  things , Georgia  has  been 
ranked  among  the  despotisms  of  the  east ; and  her  late  benev- 
olent, honest,  and  talented  Governor  placed  among  the  Neros, 
Dionysiuses,  and  Dracos,  of  infamous  memory.  From  the  en- 
lightened, the  candid,  and  the  pious,  of  all  parties  and  all  creeds, 
the  State  must  receive  a judgment  not  only  of  acquittal  of  error 
or  crime,  but  of  high  commendation. 

Resolved , That  this  committee  recommend,  and  do  hereby 
recommend  to  the  General  Assembly,  the  printing  of  forty  copies 
of  this  report  for  each  member  of  the  State  delegation  in  Con- 
gress, and  that  his  excellency  the  Governor,  be,  and  he  is  hereby 
requested  to  forward  to  our  delegation  in  Congress,  forty  copies 
each  of  the  report. 

Read  and  agreed  to. 

Thomas  Stocks,  Pres. 

Attest  I.  L.  Harris,  Sec'y. 

In  the  House  of  Representatives,  concurred  in,  Dec.  [24]  1831. 

Ashbury  Hull,  Speaker. 

Attest,  W.  C.  Dawson,  Clerk. 

Approved , Dec.  26,  1831. 

/ Wilson  Lumpkin,  Governor. 

NOTES — By  Thomas  Stocks. 

The  foregoing  Report  was  drawn  up  by  a distinguished 
jurist  and  esteemed  member  of  the  church,  and  unanimously 
agreed  to  by  both  branches  of  the  Legislature. 

(a)  New-York  and  other  States  had  done  the  same.  Extract 
from  the  law  of  New  York  in  1822:  — “The  several  courts  of 
justice,  organized  under  the  constitution  and  laws  of  this  State, 
possess  the  sole  and  exclusive  jurisdiction  of  trying  and  punish- 
ing, in  the  manner  prescribed  by  law,  all  persons,  as  well 
Indians  as  others,  for  offences  and  crimes  committed  within  the 
boundaries  of  the  State,”  Ac. 

“ For  a long  succession  of  years,”  says  the  Supreme  Court 
of  New  York,  ‘Gve  have  exercised  entire  supremacy  over  all  the 
tribes  within  the  State,  and  have  regulated  by  law  their  internal 
concerns,  their  contracts,  and  their  property.” 

( b ) There  was  no  safety  to  persons  travelling  through  the 


440 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


nation,  and  no  anthority  to  punish  for  the  most  enormous  crimes. 
Two  white  men  wantonly  murdered  another  who  was  residing 
within  the  limits  of  the  nation.  They  were  arraigned  before  the 
Superior  Court  of  an  adjoining  county ; but  the  judge  could 
not  punish  them,  because  the  constitution  of  Georgia  requires  all 
criminals  to  be  tried  in  the  county  where  the  crime  was  com- 
mitted ; but  the  Chei’okee  country  was  not  a county.  Unwilling, 
however,  to  let  such  an  infringement  of  personal  rights  pass 
without  punishment,  the  judge  bound  the  prisoners  to  appear 
before  the  United  States  Court  for  the  district  of  Georgia. 
There  the  judge  decided  that  he  had  no  power  to  punish  them, 
and  they  went  at  large ! When  these  decisions  were  made 
knovm,  the  number  of  outlaws  and  villains  was  greatly  multi- 
plied, and  they  swarmed  into  the  Cherokee  Nation. 

(c)  These  men,  together  with  the  chiefs,  controlled  the  whole 
body  of  Indians.  It  was  their  interest  to  retain  possession  of 
the  country,  and  impose  on  the  ignorance  of  the  great  mass  of 
the  population.  The  chiefs,  most  of  whom  are  nearly  destitute 
of  any  Indian  blood  at  all,  received  and  made  use  of  the  annuities 
paid  by  the  general  government,  for  themselves,  and  expended 
it  for  their  own  interest.  Lately,  however,  the  President  has 
directed  these  annuities  to  be  paid  to  each  family ; and  hence 
the  head  men,  in  order  to  fee  lawyers,  have  resorted  to  the 
speech-making  plan  among  the  Northern  States.  A few  years 
ago,  some  hundreds  accepted  the  offer  of  the  government,  and 
removed  west  of  the  Mississippi ; but,  to  prevent  further  immigra- 
tion, the  chiefs  passed  a regulation  making  death  the  punishment 
of  any  family  that  would  enroll  for  this  purpose  ! The  common 
Indians  felt  it  was  their  interest  to  remove,  and  all  would  have 
gone  ere  this,  had  it  not  been  for  the  despotism  of  their  rulers. 
Their  game  is  gone  ; and  it  is  well  known  they  are  too  indolent 
to  labor,  and  many  of  them  are  in  a most  wretched  condition. 

(i d ) Rev.  Mr.  O’Bryan,  a Baptist  missionary,  was  in  the 
nation ; but  he  did  not  think  it  was  his  duty  to  defy  the  laws  of 
Georgia,  lecture  on  politics,  and  insult  the  government.  Nor 
did  he  lose  the  confidence  of  the  Indians  for  his  respect  to  the 
laws.  More  than  eighty  families  begged  him  to  go  west  with 
them ; he  has  consented,  and  they  have  now  probably  arrived 
beyond  the  Mississippi. 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


441 


7 (e)  The  right  of  soil  and  jurisdiction  was  in  Georgia  previous 

to  the  formation  of  the  federal  constitution.  She  permitted  the 
United  States  government  to  regulate  intercourse  with  the 
Indians,  until  it  became  necessary  for  her  to  assume  jurisdiction. 

(/)  The  missionaries  could  have  removed  if  they  disliked  the 
law,  a few  miles,  either  into  Alabama,  Tennessee  or  North  Caro- 
lina, and  there,  within  the  same  tribe,  pursued  their  benevolent 
labors.  There  is  nothing  in  the  Georgia  law  which  infringes  at 
all  their  rights  of  conscience,  or  hinders  them  from  preaching 
the  gospel.  Should  it  be  said  that  the  taking  the  oath  would 
destroy  all  their  hope  of  doing  good  with  the  Indians,  it  may  be 
answered,  that  it  is  not  true  ; for  Mr.  0 ’Bryan’s  obedience  did 
not  unfavorably  impress  the  Indians  towards  him. 

Let  it  be  asked,  would  Massachusetts  suffer  the  Maslipee 
tribe,  within  that  State,  to  declare  itself  an  independent  nation  ? 
Would  New  York,  or  any  other  State  suffer  it? 

If  it  should  be  said  that  Georgia  is  wresting  the  lands  from 
the  Cherokees,  it  is  not  true : she  has  directed  the  survey  of 
them,  in  expectation  that  the  general  government  will  soon  induce 
them  to  remove  beyond  the  Mississippi ; but  she  does  not  intend 
to  dispossess  them  of  the  right  of  occupancy.  They  may  remain 
as  long  as  they  please. 

This  report,  and  these  few  notes  and  remarks,  have  been  re- 
printed to  correct  the  many  erroneous  impressions  that  are 
abroad  on  this  subject.  Had  the  presses  at  the  North  given 
publicity  to  the  report  and  other  documents,  refuting  the  many 
slanders  cast  upon  Georgia,  this  pamphlet  had  not  seen  the  light. 

Thomas  Stocks. 

New  York,  April,  1832. 


CHAPTER  X. 

The  proper  application  of  the  public  money  appro- 
priated by  the  Legislature  for  the  support  of  free 
schools,  and  the  education  of  the  poor,  was  a matter  of 
great  difficulty  when  I was  in  the  Executive  Depart- 


442 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


ment.  Society  was  so  loosely  organized,  whilst  the 
State  was  acquiring  from  time  to  time  possession  of  its 
Indian  territory,  and  its  public  lands  settled  up  with 
people  from  hither  and  thither  without  the  knowledge 
of  each  other,  or  any  principles  of  action  in  common, 
that  the  trial  to  educate  the  poor  by  the  public  money 
through  the  people  of  each  neighborhood  proved  a 
most  wasteful  expenditure. 

The  following  letter  written  upon  the  subject  at  the 
time,  may  still  be  of  some  value. 


Executive  Department,  Milledgeville,  8th  April,  1830. 

Sir. — I have  been  requested  by  tlie  Legislature  to  correspond 
with  the  distinguished  and  intelligent  gentlemen  of  our  country 
upon  the  best  practical  plan  of  extending  the  benefits  of  educa- 
tion to  the  children  of  the  poor,  at  the  public  expense.  Large 
appropriations  have  been  made  to  effect  this  object  for  several 
years  past,  with  but  very  little  success.  It  is  important  that  the 
causes  which  have  produced  this  failure  should  be  ascertained, 
so  that  they  may  be  obviated  hereafter,  or  if  the  object  be  found 
impracticable  that  the  present  wasteful  expenditure  should  he 
no  longer  continued. 

I am  desirous  of  obtaining  your  opinions  upon  this  subject, 
and  hope  that  the  request  of  the  Legislature  will  be  my  suffi- 
cient apology  for  asking  their  full  expression  in  answer  to  this 
letter. 

The  policy  of  making  appropriations  by  the  government  to 
effect  ends  which  are  within  the  means  of  individuals  has  always 
been  considered  questionable.  Is  it  not  true  that  active  enter- 
prise, love  of  distinction,  and  the  selfishness  of  men,  will  effect 
whatever  improves  their  condition  within  their  own  means  to  ac- 
complish, more  certainly  and  economically  than  when  undertaken 
by  the  government  1 Is  it  not  one  of  the  most  beneficial  results 
of  free  governments  that  the  people  are  permitted  to  enjoy  ac- 
cording to  their  own  will  and  taste  the  largest  possible  share  of 
the  profits  of  their  labor  ? Are  not  the  means  of  the  people  for 
the  education  of  their  children  lessened  by  supporting  common 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


443 


schools  out  of  the  public  treasury,  just  by  so  much  as  the  money 
which  they  pay  in  taxes  for  that  purpose  is  decreased  by  the  ex- 
pense of  collection,  loss  of  intei’est,  and  the  unfaithfulness  of 
public  agents  ? Is  not  public  opinion  so  impressed  with  the  va- 
lue of  education  in  our  country,  as  to  render  it  sufficiently  cer- 
tain that  the  people  will  of  their  own  accord  apply  their  means 
to  the  support  of  schools  ? In  those  cases  where  this  may  not 
be  true,  can  the  government  by  any  vigilance  or  expense  over- 
come the  neglect  of  parents  but  at  an  expense  greater  than  any 
consequent  advantage  to  the  community  ? 

If  you  are  of  the  opinion  that  the  education  of  the  people 
should  be  conducted  at  the  public  expense,  ought  not  the  children 
of  all  classes  to  receive  an  equal  benefit  ? Is  it  not  contrary  to 
the  spirit  of  our  government  to  make  distinctions  by  the  laws,  be- 
tween the  rich  and  the  poor,  or  to  extend  advantages  to  one  class 
which  are  not  given  to  the  other  ? Will  not  improper  jealousies 
be  thereby  created  among  the  people  ? Are  we  not  by  such  a 
system  inducing  the  poor  to  be  contented  in  a state  of  poverty  ? 
Ought  we  not  rather  by  our  policy  to  stimulate  them  to  industry? 

If  you  are  of  the  opinion  that  the  poor  alone  should  be  edu- 
cated at  the  public  expense,  are  there  not  insuperable  difficulties 
in  making  beneficially  such  an  expenditure,  arising  from  the  pe- 
culiar locality  and  population  of  the  State  ? Wffiilst  one-third 
of  our  territory  has  a population  exceeding  twelve  to  the  square 
mile  and  another  third  not  equal  to  two,  is  it  possible  to  adopt 
any  system  which  will  operate  equally  in  every  section  of  the 
State,  and  profitably  to  all  ? Is  not  our  population  too  sparse,  if 
it  were  equally  distributed,  to  enable  the  government  to  render 
any  plan  useful  ? Are  not  the  present  habits  of  our  people  too 
migratory  to  have  the  constant  advantage  of  experienced  agents 
for  disbursing  the  public  money  or  of  acquiring  and  retaining 
any  tolerably  accurate  knowledge  of  the  poor  children  who  are 
proper  subjects  of  the  bounty  of  the  government?  Can  we 
create  any  civil  divisions  subordinate  to  the  counties  in  which 
agents  can  be  found  capable  of  properly  directing  the  education 
of  the  poor  within  them  ? If  notwithstanding  the  obstacles  in 
the  way  of  success,  you  should  be  of  the  opinion  that  our  present 
system  ought  to  be  continued,  how  shall  its  defects  be  correct- 
ed ? I suppose  them  to  consist  principally  in  making  the  Trus- 


444 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


tees  draw  the  money  to  be  expended  by  them  from  the  Treasury 
of  the  State  ; the  want  of  responsibility  in  the  Trustees  ; not 
requiring  the  Trustees  to  report  to  the  Executive  office,  and  to 
have  their  accounts  upon  them  passed  ; the  imperfect  manner  in 
which  the  numbers  of  poor  children  are  ascertained  ; the  small- 
ness of  the  sum  appropriated  for  their  schooling  ; and  its  not 
being  annually  made  and  certain  in  amount. 

The  inconvenience  of  drawing  money  from  the  Treasury,  ac- 
cording to  the  requirements  of  the  law,  especially  by  the  Trus- 
tees in  the  distant  counties,  is  so  great,  that  many  of  the  coun- 
ties do  not  draw  their  proportion  at  all.  It  is  now  more  than 
three  months  since  the  dividend  of  the  Poor  School  fund  for  the 
years  1828  and  1829  was  declared,  and  not  more  than  one  third 
of  the  counties  have  applied  for  their  allotments.  Would  it 
not  be  more  convenient  and  equally  safe,  to  authorize  the  Trus- 
tees to  draw  upon  the  County  Treasurer,  or  the  Collector  of  the 
Taxes,  the  amount  being  first  ascertained  at  the  treasury  and 
duly  published  7 Might  not  the  responsibility  of  the  Trustees 
be  better  secured,  by  requiring  them  to  submit  their  accounts  to 
the  County  Treasurer,  and  there  passed  upon  ? They  are  never 
accompanied  by  any  vouchers,  so  that  the  Governor  cannot  know 
whether  the  expenditures  have  been  made  at  all,  nor  is  it  possi- 
ble for  him  to  judge  of  their  prosperity,  if  made,  because  the 
subjects  of  them  and  their  attendant  circumstances  cannot  be 
known  to  him.  All  that  is  required  of  the  Trustee,  is  to  report. 
If  it  were  his  duty  to  exhibit  his  accounts  to  some  officer  in  the 
county  where  the  public  money  is  disbursed,  to  be  examined  and 
passed  upon,  or  rejected  by  him,  and  then  filed  in  his  office,  where 
they  would  be  subject  to  the  examination  of  every  person,  would 
not  improper  accounts  be  more  easily  detected  and  certainly  ex- 
posed than  at  present  7 

Would  it  not  be  a still  more  convenient  and  efficient  plan,  to 
provide  that  no  money  shall  be  drawn  by  the  Trustees,  but  make 
it  their  duty  to  contract  with  the  schoolmasters  for  the  education 
of  the  children  to  be  taught,  and  upon  the  execution  of  the  con- 
tract, give  to  them  orders  upon  the  State  or  County  Treasury 
for  whatever  may  be  due  them  7 At  present  the  Trustees  may 
receive  the  money  allowed  their  counties,  and  hold  it  for  a long 
time  without  the  knowledge  of  those  interested  in  its  disburse- 


FIRST  SETTLEKS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


445 


ment.  This  could  scarcely  be  the  case,  if  they  received  the 
money  of  the  County  Treasurer,  or  Collecter  of  Taxes,  and  would 
be  effectually  prevented  by  the  schoolmasters  drawing  the  money 
as  has  been  suggested. 

The  present  law  requires  that  the  Justices  of  the  Peace  in  each 
captain’s  district  shall  make  out  a list  of  the  children  in  their 
respective  districts,  whose  indigence  entitles  them  to  a partici- 
pation in  the  poor  school  fund,  and  report  the  same  in  writing  to 
the  Trustees,  &c.  It  attaches  no  penalty  to  a failure  on  the 
part  of  the  Trustees  to  comply  with  its  requirements,  and  the 
consequence  has  been  that  reports  have  been  made  by  very  few. 
Must  not  this  difficulty  be  overcome  in  some  way,  before  any 
thing  can  be  effected  of  any  use  ? What  do  you  think  of  making 
it  the  duty  of  the  Grand  Jury  of  each  county,  to  investigate 
this  matter,  and  requiring  of  that  body  to  present  defaulting 
Justices  ? Or  if  this  should  be  supposed  harsh  or  calculated 
to  deter  respectable  men  from  accepting  the  office  of  Justice, 
could  it  not  be  made  the  duty  of  the  Receiver  of  Tax  Returns  to 
make  out  a list  of  the  poor  children  as  a part  of  the  business  of 
his  office,  giving  him  an  adequate  compensation  for  his  addition- 
al labor  ? 

The  sum  hitherto  appropriated  has  as  yet  equalled  $20,000. 
But  as  some  of  the  sources  from  which  it  is  derived  are  failing 
or  uncertain,  it  may  in  some  years  be  less  than  that  sum,  and 
when  that  shall  be  the  case,  according  to  the  present  law  no  dis- 
tribution can  take  place. 

Is  it  not  absolutely  necessary  for  sustaining  such  a system  of 
education  as  ours,  that  it  should  be  kept  constantly  in  operation? 
How  are  teachers  otherwise  to  be  had,  the  poor  children  to  be 
known,  or  experienced  public  agents  found  who  will  act  ? 

Estimating  the  extent  of  the  State  at  60,000  square  miles, 
and  allowing  16  square  miles  to  each  school,  the  number  in  the 
State  would  be  near  4,000.  According  to  this  calculation,  $5 
would  be  received  by  each  school  for  the  education  of  the  poor 
children. 

Is  not  $20,000  wholly  inadequate  for  the  purpose  of 
educating  the  poor  in  a territory  so  extensive  as  ours  ? Ought 
not  the  sum  appropriated  to  be  sufficiently  large  to  authorize  the 
maintenance  of  a school  in  each  neighborhood  for  at  least  a part 
of  the  year  ? 


446 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


These  various  suggestions  and  inquiries  have  been  made  for 
the  purpose  of  drawing  your  attention  to  the  whole  subject  with- 
out any  expectation  that  each  will  be  specially  answered. 

The  education  of  the  people,  as  well  as  the  appropriation  of  large 
sums  of  public  money  for  purposes  within  the  attainment  of  in- 
dividual exertion,  are  important  subjects  of  consideration  for  the 
Legislature  of  the  State.  It  is  hoped  that  yourself  and  other  gentle- 
men whose  intelligence  and  weight  of  character  have  the  power  of 
directing  public  opinion  upon  such  matters,  may  throw  so  much 
light  upon  this  subject  as  to  enable  the  Legislature  to  correct 
the  defects  of  our  system  of  educating  the  poor,  or  to  justify  it 
in  putting  an  end  to  the  public  expenditure  for  that  object 
altogether. 

Very  respectfully,  yours,  &c., 

George  R.  Gilmer. 

Col.  William  Cummings,  Dr.  Henry  Jackson, 

Dr.  John  Wingfield,  Col.  Joseph  H.  Lumpkin. 


Executive  Department,  Milledgeville,  29th  March,  1830. 

Sir, — By  the  request  of  the  Legislature  of  this  State,  I have 
addressed  letters  to  gentlemen  residing  in  different  States  of 
the  Union  for  the  purpose  of  collecting  all  the  information  pos- 
sible upon  the  subject  of  the  best  practical  system  of  educating 
the  poor  of  the  State  at  the  public  expense.  I have  taken  the 
liberty  of  directing  one  of  these  letters  to  yourself.  I am  desir- 
ous that  you  should  extend  your  remarks  beyond  the  particular 
subjects  of  inquiry  in  that  letter.  Your  intimate  acquaintance 
with  our  people,  their  habits  and  wants,  and  your  knowledge  of 
the  local  peculiarities  of  the  State,  will  enable  you  to  do  this  in  a 
very  acceptable  manner  to  us. 

Can  we  make  an  application  of  the  public  money  for  the  edu- 
cation of  the  poor  sufficiently  beneficial  to  justify  such  an  expendi- 
ture ? Is  not  the  extent  of  the  State  too  great  and  the  population 
too  sparse,  too  unequally  distributed  and  too  unsettled  ? It  is  on 
this  part  of  the  subject  that  your  opinion  is  particularly  desired. 
I must  confess  my  want  of  confidence  in  the  success  of  any  system 
of  free  education  that  could  be  devised  for  Georgia  at  the  present. 
All  admit  that  the  money  which  has  been  hitherto  expended  for 
that  purpose  has  been  wasted.  The  importance  of  education  in 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


447 


a free  Democratic  Government  like  ours  is  so  strongly  impressed 
upon  public  opinion,  and  the  cause  of  the  poor  so  popular,  'where 
all  officers  depend  upon  the  voice  of  the  people,  that  it  is  ex- 
tremely difficult  to  pursue  such  policy  as  the  true  interest  of  the 
State  requires. 

At  present,  the  annual  product  of  the  bank  stock  and  other 
property  pledged  for  the  education  of  the  poor  scarcely  equals 
$20,000.  Of  that  sum,  it  may  be  estimated  that  not  more  than 
half  has  its  proper  application,  and  of  that  half,  that  its  useful- 
ness is  not  equal  to  one  half  of  the  same  amount  applied  by  the 
people  to  the  same  purpose  from  their  private  resources,  and 
according  to  their  own  judgments.  This  proceeds  from  a variety 
of  causes,  besides  those  already  suggested,  especially  from  the 
fact,  that  we  have  no  such  class  as  the  poor.  Our  lands  are  so 
cheap,  and  the  absolute  necessaries  of  life  so  easily  obtained,  that 
the  number  of  dependent  poor  are  scarcely  sufficient  to  give 
exercise  to  the  virtue  of  charity  in  individuals.  A beggar  is 
almost  as  rare  with  us  as  a prince.  Children  instead  of  being 
an  encumbrance  to  the  poor  of  our  country,  are  their  riches.  It 
has  also  been  found  that  from  the  smallness  of  the  sum  appro- 
priated, it  has  been  either  so  temporary  in  its  application  or 
so  local  that  no  general  benefit  has  resulted.  The  smallness  of 
the  sum  appropriated,  as  well  as  the  uncertainty  of  receiving  any 
portion  of  it  for  any  certain  length  of  time,  has  prevented  (what  was 
very  desirable)  any  increase  in  the  number  of  teachers.  I have 
no  doubt,  myself,  that  as  much  money  is  drawn  from  the  poor  by 
taxation  (for  those  who  have  nothing  are  subject  by  our  laws  to 
poll  tax)  as  is  ever  returned  to  them  for  the  education  of  their 
children.  I have  as  little  doubt  but  that  the  cause  of  general 
education  would  be  as  much  advanced  by  relieving  the  people  of 
the  payment  of  $20,000  in  taxes,  as  from  the  application  of  that 
sum  by  the  Legislature  to  that  purpose. 

Perhaps  the  very  highest  blessing  of  a free  and  enlightened 
government  is,  that  each  individual  is  secured  in  the  enjoyment, 
according  to  his  own  taste  and  will,  of  the  profits  of  his  own 
labor.  Governments  may  be  considered  oppressive  in  proportion 
to  the  authority  which  they  exercise  in  arbitrarily  controlling 
that  enjoyment.  It  yet  remains  to  be  tested  (it  seems  that  our 
own  country  is  not  to  furnish  the  example),  what  extent  of  pros- 


448 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


perity  and  happiness  would  result  from  the  establishment  of  a 
government  without  revenue,  except  for  its  administration  and 
for  defence  from  foreign  enemies.  It  appears  to  he  extremely 
doubtful  whether  a government  like  ours  ever  did  beneficially 
execute  any  measure  which  could  be  effected  by  individual  exer- 
tion. The  vigor  of  execution,  the  enterprise,  industry,  ambition, 
and  economy  which  result  from  every  individual  in  society  hav- 
ing the  use  of  all  his  own  means,  would  most  probably  accom- 
plish in  the  best  manner  every  thing  required  by  the  interest  or 
happiness  of  the  community. 

The  benefit  derived  from  permitting  society  to  use  its  means 
according  to  its  will  would  seem  to  apply  as  well  to  education  as 
to  any  other  improvement. 

When  to  the  truth  of  these  general  principles  is  added  the 
practical  objections  arising  from  the  peculiar  situation  of  our 
State  and  people,  are  not  appropriations  of  the  public  money  for 
the  purpose  of  general  education  rendered  questionable  ? 

Our  poor  school  system  has  been  in  operation  six  years,  and 
we  have  been  unable  to  procure  lists  of  the  poor  children  from 
one  fourth  of  the  districts  of  the  State. 

It  is  believed  that  not  one  additional  school  has  been  kept  on 
account  of  the  assistance  furnished  by  the  State. 

The  Trustees  draw  the  money  to  be  expended  by  them  through 
a warrant  from  the  Executive  office,  and  account  only  to  that 
department  for  their  conduct.  The  money  is,  consequently,  ob- 
tained with  great  trouble,  and  afterwards  expended  with  little  or 
no  responsibility. 

These  suggestions  are  made  for  the  purpose  of  calling  your 
attention  to  an  examination  of  the  whole  subject.  My  apology 
for  asking  such  an  examination  is  to  be  found  in  the  high  respect 
known  to  be  entertained  by  our  people  for  your  character  and 
talents. 

Very  respectfully,  yours,  &c., 

George  R.  Gtlmf.r. 

Rev.  William  T.  Brantly. 

The  legislation  of  the  State  and  the  opinions  and 
practice  of  men  have  been  so  various  about  banking ; 
the  buying  and  selling  of  coin  ; the  lending  of  mone)r 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


449 


and  the  rate  of  profit  charged  for  its  use,  that  it  may- 
be worth  while  to  give  here  the  copy  of  a letter  which 
I wrote  upon  the  subject,  in  answer  to  one  received 
from  a tax  collector  or  receiver,  asking  for  my  opinion 
to  aid  him  in  the  discharge  of  his  official  duty. 

For  many  years  after  the  age  when  men  usually 
receive  of  their  father  their  allotted  share  of  his  estate, 
I declined  taking  any  from  mine,  from  the  probability 
that  I might  never  have  health  sufficient  to  employ  it 
profitably.  When  my  father  died,  my  brothers  gave 
me  money  or  their  notes  for  my  share  of  our  inheri- 
tance. I have  never  owned  land  and  negroes,  beyond 
what  was  sufficient  for  household  purposes  and  wants. 
Although  I was  born  in  Georgia,  and  belonged  to  a 
prosperous  tobacco  and  cotton-making  family,  I have 
never  made  a pound  of  these  staple  productions.  My 
property  has  always  been  in  the  hands  of  others.  I 
have  been  offered  ten,  twelve,  sixteen,  twenty  and 
twenty-five  per  cent.,  and  even  more,  for  the  use  of  my 
money.  I have  never  received  more  than  the  law 
determined  to  be  the  proper  rate  of  interest. 

I have  six  brothers,  all  of  whom  are  much  richer 
than  myself.  Not  one  of  them  has  enjoyed  his  estate 
so  much,  or  had  so  little  trouble  in  its  management,  or 
been  so  entirely  satisfied  with  its  increase  as  myself. 
One  day  in  the  year  suffices  to  ascertain  what  I am 
worth,  so  as  to  report  to  the  receiver  of  taxables  for 
Oglethorpe  County.  I take  but  little  further  trouble 
about  it.  When  I am  from  home  for  a long  time,  my 
neighbor  and  friend  L.  J.  Deupree,  takes  charge  of  my 
moneyed  concerns,  and  reports  them  in  a better  state 
when  returned,  than  when  received.  I make  my  profits 
and  expenses  tally,  except  when  my  wife  wants  a large 
addition  to  her  house,  a new  carriage,  an  additional 
29 


450 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


supply  of  hothouse  plants,  new  carpets,  china,  silver, 
<fcc.,  &c.  The  overdraws  thus  made,  I have  usually 
paid  out  of  some  family  legacy,  or  old  fees,  so  that  my 
estate  is  about  equal  in  amount  to  what  it  was  when  I 
quit  professional  and  public  business.  The  Legislature 
to  be  sure  has  made  a strong  inroad  into  my  income  of 
late  years,  by  lessening  the  rate  of  interest  from  eight, 
to  seven  per  cent.  But  as  I consider  this  change  of  the 
law  right,  I have  endeavored  to  accommodate  my  ex- 
penditure to  my  lessened  means,  though  it  operates  a 
little  hardly,  upon  my  wife’s  love  of  new  and  pretty 
things.  As  she  is  the  happiest  temper  in  the  world, 
and  makes  her  husband  as  well  satisfied  as  his  consti- 
tution will  allow,  he  is  Caudelized  but  little  on  account 
of  the  deficiency  of  money  to  supply  her  wants. 

The  letter  alluded  to  is  as  follows  : 

Executive  Department,  Milledgeville,  16 th  March,  1830. 

Sir, — I received,  this  morning,  your  letter,  requesting  my 
opinion  as  to  the  construction  of  the  Tax  Act  of  1829,  and  par- 
ticularly whether  money-lenders  are  subjected  by  it  to  the  pay- 
ment of  a tax.  It  is  not  a part  of  my  official  duty  to  expound 
the  Acts  of  the  Legislature.  Any  opinion  which  I may  give 
upon  such  a subject  can  have  no  more  weight  than  that  of  any 
private  citizen.  In  most  wealthy  and  commercial  communities, 
the  business  of  brokerage  and  private  banking  are  well  known. 
It  is  the  employment  of  brokers  to  exchange  one  kind  of  bank- 
notes for  others,  or  for  coin,  or  one  kind  of  coin  for  another,  for 
profit.  To  carry  on  this  business  properly,  requires  a collection 
of  the  various  sorts  of  money,  as  the  trade  of  the  merchant  does 
of  many  kinds  of  goods.  It  is  really  the  trade  of  buying  and 
selling  money.  The  stock  on  hand  for  the  purpose  of  taxation 
can  be  as  easily  ascertained  as  a stock  of  merchandise. 

Private  bankers  differ  only  from  public  bankers  in  this — that 
public  bankers  act  by  the  authority  of  law,  and  private  bankers 
without  it.  Whoever  keeps  a bank,  or  office  of  discount  and 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


451 


deposit,  or  office  of  discount  only,  is  a banker.  Whoever  makes 
a business  of  issuing  negotiable  paper  in  such  a manner  as  to 
form  a part  of  the  circulating  medium  of  the  country,  may  also 
•be  considered  a banker,  such  as  McKinne  & Shultz  formerly 
were,  and  the  many  issuers  of  change  bills. 

Money  shaving  is  an  employment  never  perhaps  dignified  by 
the  notice  of  a Legislature  before  the  Tax  Act  of  1829.  Since 
the  great  decline  in  price  of  most  of  the  staple  productions  of 
the  State,  the  heavy  duties  upon  imports,  and  the  consequent 
suffering  and  want  in  our  community,  this  trade  has  been  but 
too  sensibly  known  to  our  people.  It  consists  in  the  buying  of 
promissory  notes  or  bills,  at  a deduction,  or  by  shaving  off  a part 
of  their  amounts,  or  paying  for  them  less  than  is  actually  due. 
If  the  money  lending  about  which  you  ask  my  opinion,  is  con- 
ducted either  in  the  form  of  banking,  brokerage,  or  shaving,  it 
comes  within  the  meaning  of  the  act. 

If  by  money  lending  you  mean  the  act  of  a man’s  putting  his 
own  money  out  at  interest,  and  taking  a bond  or  note  of  the 
borrower  as  the  evidence  of  the  debt  contracted,  and  to  enforce 
payment,  it  does  not  come  either  within  the  words  or  spirit  of 
the  law  ; nor  do  repeated  acts  of  this  kind  make  a man  a 
banker.  A man  taking  a bond  or  note  from  one  to  whom  he 
has  loaned  money,  is  a very  different  act  from  issuing  notes  to 
others,  upon  their  paying  him  money  therefor.  The  banker 
keeps  money,  and  issues  notes  upon  the  credit  of  it ; the  lender 
parts  with  his,  and  takes  notes  for  the  purpose  of  getting  it  back 
with  interest.  The  community  derives  great  advantage  from 
the  circulation  of  all  the  money  within  it.  The  State  cannot, 
therefore,  intend  to  suppress  the  lending  of  money,  except  at 
usurious  interest.  The  issuing  of 'the  bills  of  private  bankers 
has  always  been  considered  highly  injurious  to  the  State,  be- 
cause it  renders  the  quantity  of  the  circulating  medium  some- 
times too  great  for  the  purposes  of  the  people,  and  at  other  times 
too  little,  and  gives  rise  to  speculation,  and  most  commonly  to 
the  failures  of  bankers,  and  consequent  loss  to  the  community. 

As  you  have  stated  no  particular  case,  my  remarks  could 
not  be  more  precise. 

Very  respectfully,  yours,  &c., 

George  R.  Gilmer. 


John  Smith,  Esq. 


452 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


The  power  of  pardoning  convicted  criminals  is  the 
distinguishing  authority  which  belongs  to  the  Gov- 
ernor. It  is  sometimes  exercised  with  too  much  rigor 
to  answer  the  end  intended,  and  at  other  times  with 
so  much  clemency  as  to  defeat  it.  How  I exercised 
this  peculiar  executive  prerogative  may  be  judged  of 
by  the  following  answers  to  applications  for  pardons. 

Executive  Department,  Milledgcville,  31s/!  December,  1829. 

Nothing  is  more  natural  to  human  beings  than  pity  for  those 
who  suffer,  and  the  wish  to  relieve  them.  It  is  not,  therefore, 
a matter  of  wonder  that  petitions  for  the  pardon  of  convicts  in 
the  penitentiary  should  often  he  signed  by  great  numbers  of 
persons,  without  regard  to  the  guilt  of  the  convict.  The  petition 
for  the  pardon  of  Henry  R.  Rodgers  is  a striking  instance  of 
this  fact.  It  is  said  that  Rodgers  has  a wife  dependent  upon 
him  for  support.  So  much  the  greater  his  guilt,  in  forgetting 
what  was  due  to  her.  His  belonging  to  a respectable  family 
still  further  proves  that  the  ordinary  restraints  upon  men  could 
not  prevent  him  from  committing  crimes.  His  good  behavior  in 
the  penitentiary,  is  but  a very  slight  reason  in  favor  of  his  par- 
don, because  his  obedience  to  the  laws  of  the  penitentiary,  is  a 
matter  of  constant  compulsion.  The  reasons  assigned  in  the 
petition  for  his  pardon  are  not  those  for  which  the  Governor  was 
invested  with  the  extraordinary  power  of  forgiving  offences 
against  the  State.  There  seems  to  be  no  doubt  but  that  Rod- 
gers has  been  guilty  of  taking  away  the  life  of  a fellow-being, 
without  the  justification  of  self-defence,  and  under  the  influence 
of  vile  passions.  I should  feel  the  guilt  of  blood  upon  my  own 
conscience  if  I were  to  pardon  him. 

George  R.  Gilmer. 

To  the  Petitioners,  itc. 

Executive  Department,  Milledgeville,  26 th  January,  1830. 

Sir, — Your  letter,  requesting  the  pardon  of  H.  I.  Brewer, 
a convict  in  the  penitentiary,  has  been  received. 

During  the  session  of  the  Legislature  a petition  was  received 
from  a large  number  of  the  most  respectable  citizens  of  Elbert 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


453 


County,  making  the  same  request.  After  the  most  deliberate 
consideration  which  my  situation  enables  me  to  give  to  this 
application,  I feel  compelled  to  reject  it.  It  must  be  grateful  to 
Brewer’s  feelings  to  know  that  you  have  forgiven  him  the  injury 
done  you,  and  does  honor  to  your  character  as  a benevolent  man. 
But  the  State,  in  punishing  crimes,  does  not  look  to  the  particu- 
lar injury  done  to  the  individual.  Its  object  is  to  secure  the 
peace  and  happiness  of  society  by  deterring  bad  men  from  the 
indulgence  of  their  evil  propensities.  The  Governor  of  the 
State  cannot,  consistently  with  his  official  duty,  permit  his  re- 
spect or  regard  for  individuals  to  influence  his  conduct.  It  is 
his  duty  to  execute  the  sentences  in  all  cases,  except  where 
alleviating  circumstances  accompany  the  commission  of  offences. 
There  was  nothing  of  the  kind  in  Hendly  I.  Brewer’s  case. 
He  disregarded  the  early  precepts  of  a pious  father,  and  the 
obligations  he  owed  to  an  aged  mother.  His  offence  did  not 
have  the  justification  of  immediate  and  pressing  temptation. 
Were  I to  pardon  Brewer,  I know  not  how  I could  refuse  to 
grant  most  of  the  many  applications  for  pardon  which  are  made 
to  me.  I can,  however,  fully  appreciate  the  motives  which  in- 
duced you  to  write  in  his  behalf. 

Very  respectfully,  yours,  &c., 

George  R.  Gilmer. 

James  J.  Banks,  Esq. 

Executive  Department,  Millcdgeville,  2d  February,  1830. 

Sir, — Ho  application  that  has  been  made  for  the  exercise  of 
the  pardoning  power  has  occasioned  me  so  much  painful  difficulty 
and  hesitation  as  that  for  Moon.  This  has  proceeded  very 
much  from  the  opinion  expressed  by  yourself,  and  one  or  two 
other  friends,  who  I am  certain  would  not  intentionally  mislead 
me  in  the  discharge  of  my  official  duties.  I have  also  not  been 
able  to  avoid  sympathizing  with  the  distress  of  his  respectable 
firth er ; I cannot,  however,  satisfy  myself  that  I should. act  cor- 
rectly in  granting  his  pardon.  He  has  been  guilty  of  a very 
heinous  offence,  in  taking  away  the  life  of  a fellow-being.  I 
cannot  pardon  such  a crime,  unless  committed  under  the  strong- 
est excitement  of  passion,  produced  by  greatly  irritating  insult  or 
injury.  I have  not  been  able  to  find  any  very  palliating  circum- 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


451 

stances  in  the  conduct  of  Moon.  The  whole  riot  in  which  he 
deliberately  connected  himself  with  others  of  acknowledged 
vicious  and  desperate  character,  was  violent  and  criminal. 

The  state  of  society  in  our  country  seems  to  require  that 
offences  of  this  kind  should  he  suppressed,  if  possible.  Scarcely 
a week  passes  without  some  death  by  the  hand  of  violence.  I 
am  convinced  that  reformation  will  only  be  the  consequence  of 
certain  and  exemplary  punishment.  In  exercising  the  high  pre- 
rogative vested  in  me  by  the  constitution,  of  pardoning  crimes,  I 
consider  it  my  duty  to  be  governed  by  no  other  consideration 
than  the  public  interest.  I dare  not  consult  my  own  feelings 
and  wishes,  or  the  desires  of  my  friends,  or  the  entreaties  of  the 
friends  of  the  criminals.  Influenced  by  these  considerations,  I 
have  not,  as  yet,  been  able  to  find  it  consistent  with  my  duty  to 
pardon  Moon. 

Very  respectfully,  yours,  &c., 

George  R.  Gilmer. 

Francis  Meriwether,  Esq. 

The  following  letter  is  upon  a subject  which  still 
calls  for  investigation,  and  the  hand  of  reform.  The 
power  which  the  courts  exercised  at  the  time  when 
this  letter  was  written,  of  punishing  personal  injuries 
done  to  the  officiating  judges,  without  the  intervention 
of  a jury,  or  the  express  authority  of  law,  is  a remnant 
of  the  barbarous  despotism  of  the  English  judiciary  in 
old  times.  The  will  of  the  jndge  is  uncontrolled  by 
any  limits  defined  by  law.  The  injured  party  sits  in 
judgment  on  his  own  case,  and  uses  his  official  power 
to  punish  his  enemies  or  iusulters. 

The  punished  persons  can  obtain  no  relief  from 
hardship  or  oppression  through  the  pardoning  power. 
The  conduct  of  the  court  in  the  case  to  which  the  let- 
ter alludes,  may  have  been  proper  as  the  law  then 
was,  and  yet  the  law  be  very  wrong.  The  Legislature 
has  since  defined  the  offence  of  contempt,  but  still  in  a 
very  loose  manner. 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


455 


Executive  Department,  Milledgeville,  12th  June , 1831. 

Dear  Sir, — In  the  letter  lately  received  from  you  upon  the 
subject  of  Pbilpot’s  case,  you  say  you  have  no  earthly  doubt  of 
my  having  the  power  to  pardon  for  contempt.  I regret  that 
neither  your  suggestions,  nor  my  own  investigations,  have 
brought  my  mind  to  the  same  certainty. 

The  very  first,  and  one  of  the  most  important  principles  of 
government  adopted  by  the  people  of  this  State,  is  that  the  Legis- 
lative. Executive  and  Judiciary  Departments  shall  be  distinct. 
The  Executive  Department  has  no  power  to  interfere  with  so 
much  of  the  Government  as  has  been  by  the  constitution  and 
laws  committed  to  the  Judiciary  Department.  Before  the  Gov- 
ernor can  exercise  the  power  of  pardoning,  a crime  against  the 
State  must  have  been  committed,  and  the  criminal  sentenced  by 
the  Judiciary.  If  the  sentence  of  the  court  be  interlocutory  in 
its  nature,  and  of  such  a character  as  to  look  to  other  results 
connected  with  the  administration  of  the  laws  than  the  punish- 
ment of  the  offender,  and  the  Executive  Department  were  to 
pardon  in  such  a case,  the  object  to  be  effected  by  the  Judiciary 
Department  would  be  defeated.  The  facts  in  the  case  which 
you  have  presented  to  me  seem  to  be  these  : 

A man  by  the  name  of  Philpot  many  years  ago  purchased  a 
negro  boy  'as  a slave.  In  the  month  of  October  1829,  he  resold 
the  negro.  Soon  after  a writ  of  habeas  corpus,  granted  by  the 
Inferior  Court  of  Richmond  County  was  served  upon  him,  direct- 
ing him  to  produce  the  body  of  that  negro.  This  he  failed  to 
do,  and  was  ordered  by  the  Superior  Court  upon  an  attachment 
for  contempt  therefor,  to  be  imprisoned  until  he  produced  the 
negro.  This  order  not  having  been  made  a part  of  the  record 
sent  me,  I am  unable  to  know  what  were  its  terms  but  from  other 
parts  of  the  record. 

After  the  order  of  the  court  directing  the  imprisonment  of 
Philpot  until  he  should  produce  the  negro,  it  seems  that  Philpot 
himself  prayed  a writ  of  habeas  corpus  of  the  Superior  Court, 
to  inquire  into  the  legality  of  his  imprisonment  under  the  order 
of  the  court,  which  was  granted  to  him,  and  upon  examination, 
he  was  re-ordered  to  prison  to  be  confined  under  the  original 
order. 

The  following  inquiries  suggest  themselves,  upon  the  state- 


456 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


ment  of  facts.  Does  it  appear  that  Philpot  committed  any  crime 
against  the  State?  and  if  so,  what?  Was  it  for  lying?  for 
selling  a negro  ? or  failing  to  produce  the  negro  as  required  by 
the  writ  of  habeas  corpus,  without  proof  that  the  negro  was  in 
his  possession  at  the  time  of  the  service  of  the  writ  ? Do  these 
proceedings  show  that  Philpot  was  convicted  of  a crime  against 
the  State,  and  sentenced  by  the  court  therefor  ? If  so,  by  whom 
Avas  he  tried,  by  the  Inferior  or  Superior  Court,  and  what  is  his 
sentence  ? Was  his  crime  contempt  of  the  Inferior  or  Superior 
Court  ? Is  the  order  of  the  Superior  Court  for  the  imprison- 
ment of  Philpot  until  he  produces  the  negro,  the  sentence  of  the 
court  upon  conviction  ? Is  it  a final  sentence,  or  can  the  court 
again  take  cognizance  of  the  same  offence  ? Can  the  court 
hereafter  order  the  discharge  of  Philpot  ? 

A single  consideration,  arising  from  these  inquiries,  goes 
very  far  to  convince  me  that  the  pardoning  power  does  not  au- 
thorize, under  present  circumstances,  the  discharge  of  Philpot. 
It  does  not  seem  to  be  doubted,  by  yourself  or  others,  that  the 
Superior  Court  can  at  any  time  hereafter  discharge  Philpot,  or 
in  other  words,  do  the  act  which  you  are  requesting  the  Execu- 
tive Department  to  do.  It  is  very  certain  that  the  courts  have 
no  power  to  pardon  criminals  after  conviction  and  sentence. 
By  what  authority,  therefore,  can  the  judiciary  hereafter  inter- 
pose so  as  to  discharge  Philpot?  Evidently  (considering  the 
proceedings  otherwise  legal)  because  the  order  under  which 
Philpot  is  imprisoned  is  not  a sentence  upon  conviction,  but  an 
order  auxiliary  to  other  proceedings,  for  the  determination  of 
some  individual  right.  If  the  Superior  Court  had  considered  its 
order  for  the  imprisonment  of  Philpot  to  be  a sentence  passed 
upon  a summary  conviction  for  a crime  of  which  he  had  been 
guilty,  then  the  court  could  not  have  granted  to  him,  as  it  did, 
the  writ  of  habeas  corpus  to  inquire  into  the  legality  of  that 
sentence,  because  that  writ  is  not  issuable  upon  the  application 
of  persons  in  confinement,  upon  conviction  or  for  execution.  I 
take  it  for  granted,  therefore,  that  the  Superior  Court  in  passing 
its  order  that  Philpot  shall  be  imprisoned  until  the  negro  James 
is  produced,  did  not  consider  such  order  a sentence  upon  convic- 
tion, but  as  the  most  efficient  means  of  producing  obedience  to 
the  mandate  of  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus  directed  to  Philpot, 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


457 


requiring  him  to  produce  in  court  the  negro  which  he  had  sold, 
and  which,  according  to  an  allegation  in  the  'writ,  was  not  a 
slave. 

It  would  be  foreign  to  the  object  of  this  letter  to  inquire, 
whether  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus  designed  by  the  Constitution 
and  laws  of  the  State  to  be  the  effectual  means  of  preventing 
the  violation  of  the  personal  liberty  of  its  citizens,  can  be  used 
for  their  continued  imprisonment  upon  such  allegations  as  those 
made  in  the  writ  directed  to  Philpot.  It  would  be  equally  so  to 
express  any  opinion  as  to  the  power  of  the  courts  of  the  State 
to  assume  the  jurisdiction  over  contempts,  summary  convictions, 
and  punishment  therefor,  as  exercised  by  the  Superior  Courts 
in  England.  These  matters  belong  exclusively  to  the  Judiciary 
Department. 

Very  respectfully,  yours,  &c., 

George  It.  Gilmer. 

Augustus  B.  Longstreet,  Esq. 


Extract  of  a letter  to  the  same  person  on  the  same 
subject. 

. It  is  not  my  purpose  to  investigate  at  large  the  doctrine  of 
contempts,  as  determined  by  the  English  Courts.  It  is  sufficient 
to  say  that  it  is  the  most  arbitrary  and  tyrannical  power  now 
exercised  over  the  liberty  of  the  subject  in  that  country. 

I think  you  are  mistaken  in  saying  that  the  common  law  of 
England  is  the  law  of  this  State.  It  is  the  law  only  so  far  as  is 
consistent  with  our  Constitution,  laws,  and  form  of  Government, 
and  as  had  been  adopted  in  practice  during  the  Colonial  Gov- 
ernment. The  courts  of  England  have  determined  that  the 
power  to  punish  contempts  results  from  necessity,  and  that  their 
dignity  and  authority  could  not  be  otherwise  maintained.  This 
may  have  been  true  when  this  determination  was  made,  and  may 
yet  be  so  in  some  degree.  But  the  great  object  of  the  British 
form  of  Government  is  to  secure  its  own  existence.  The  object 
of  ours  is  to  secure  individual  rights.  The  power  of  the  courts 
in  England  to  punish  contempts,  results  from  no  public  law. 
The  courts  which  have  no  criminal  jurisdiction  exercise  this 
power  equally  with  those  that  have.  Crimes,  in  this  State,  con- 


458 


FIRST  SETILERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


sist  in  the  violation  of  some  public  law.  No  other  acts  can  be 
punished  as  such  by  our  courts.  Can  any  thing  he  more  incon- 
sistent with  the  nature  of  our  institutions,  than  that  a judge 
should  determine  the  extent  of  his  own  personal  dignity,  its  value 
to  the  community,  preside  in  the  trial  of  an  offence  against  it, 
make  the  law,  determine  the  guilt,  and  award  the  punishment  ? 
I repeat,  however,  that  these  are  all  matters  that  properly  belong 
to  the  judiciary. 

You  say  that  the  power  to  remit  the  order  of  imprisonment 
may  be  concurrent  in  the  court  and  the  Governor,  and  analogize 
it  to  the  power  of  pardoning  which  in  England  may  he  exercised 
both  by  the  king  and  the  parliament.  But  the  analogy  is  directly 
against  your  conclusion.  In  this  State  the  Legislature  cannot 
pardon,  because  the  departments  of  the  Government  have  been 
made  separate  and  distinct  by  the  Constitution,  and  the  pardon- 
ing power  has  been  conferred  upon  the  Executive  Department. 

You  conclude  your  letter  by  asking,  if  a judge  should  order 
a citizen  to  be  cropped,  branded,  or  put  to  death  for  a contempt, 
whether  I would  not  remit  the  sentence  or  respite  ? I answer 
without  hesitation,  no.  I would  no  more  pardon  in  such  a case, 
than  I would  if  a judge  should,  whilst  walking  in  the  street, 
order  a citizen  to  be  incarcerated  for  life,  for  moving  in  his  sun- 
shine. 

The  Executive  Department  has  no  authority  to  correct  the 
errors  of  the  judiciary. 

Very  respectfully,  yours,  &C., 

George  R.  Gilmer. 

Augustus  B.  Longstkeet,  Esq. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

There  are  few  situations  more  trying  than  to  re- 
main in  office  after  one  lias  been  turned  out : to  meet 
the  jests  of  successful  exulting  opponents:  to  shake 
hands  with  friends  who  have  just  lost  political  power 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


459 


by  one’s  mistakes,  or  unpopular  doings.  Not  many 
public  men  have  gone  through  a more  severe  trial  than 
I did  in  leaving  the  Executive  office. 

By  my  election,  I had  offended  a large  party  of  my 
accustomed  political  supporters.  I was  defeated  by 
those  who  had  been  previously  my  most  clamorous 
advocates.  Those  who  had  voted  for  me  for  selfish 
purposes  when  I ivas  successful,  had  not  got  what  they 
desired.  Those  who  had  opposed  my  election,  were 
compensated  for  their  mortification  at  my  success,  by 
my  defeat.  However  strong  may  have  been  my  deter- 
mination to  do  what  was  right  in  office,  and  however 
conscious  I was  of  having  done  so,  I could  not  avoid 
feeling  that  my  situation  was  very  uncomfortable. 

My  wife,  who  had  stood  by  me  with  her  smiling 
face  and  cheering  voice  during1  the  most  slanderous 
abuse,  sank  in  spirit,  when  she  met  the  chap-fallen 
looks  of  old  acquaintances,  as  they  assembled  at  the 
meeting  of  the  Legislature,  and  the  inauguration  of  my 
successor.  She  thought  she  had  gloried  in  my  defeat 
for  attempting  to  do  what  the  public  good  required  in 
opposition  to  immediate  popular  impulse.  But  she 
found  that  it  was  a glory  that  had  to  wait  for  its 
exultation  until  the  pageant  of  the  day  had  passed 
away. 

The  party  by  whom  I was  supported  in  the  canvass 
insisted  that  I should  accept  of  a public  dinner.  The 
members  thought  it  would  strengthen  their  reorganiza- 
tion. It  required  the  greatest  exertion  of  self-command, 
to  overcome  my  reluctance  to  take  part  in  the  celebra- 
tion of  my  own  defeat.  I had,  however,  received  their 
support,  and,  therefore,  consented  to  their  demands. 
The  dinner  was  on  the  day  when  I left  the  Executive 
office.  Every  moment  of  my1  time  was  fully  occupied 


460 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OP  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


with  matters  connected  with  official  business.  I dined 
wdtli  friends  at  a private  house,  so  that  I had  no  oppor- 
tunity to  prepare  my  thoughts  for  what  I was  to  do  or 
say  at  the  public  dinner.  None  but  those  who  have 
encountered  similar  difficulties  can  enter  into  the  feel- 
ings of  my  very  absurd  position.  Occupying  the  seat 
of  honor  at  the  dinner  table,  I was  called  upon  to  say 
how,  and  why,  I had  contrived  to  deprive  those  by 
whom  I was  surrounded  of  the  public  offices  to  which 
they  considered  themselves  entitled.  I made  the  effort, 
hemmed,  hawed,  stammered,  stopped,  went  on  by  fits 
and  starts,  and  finally  concluded,  without  saying  what 
might  have  been  very  well  said  in  justification  of  what 
had  been  done.  We  went  towards  my  home  in  the 
morning ; that  night  I put  upon  paper  a sketch  of  what 
I imagined  I had  said,  and  sent  it  back  to  the  managers 
of  the  affair. 

This  is  the  sentiment  which  I expressed  when  called 
upon  for  a toast,  and  part  of  the  speech. 

Honor  and  success  to  those  servants  of  the  people  who  have 
the  firmness  to  execute  what  judgment  directs  and  conscience 
approves. 

Extract  from  the  speech : 

Notwithstanding  the  difficulty  which  I find  of  expressing 
myself  in  my  present  embarrassment,  I am  yet  anxious  to  add 
something  further  in  explanation  of  the  measures  of  my  adminis- 
tration. In  opposing  the  immediate  survey  and  distribution  of  the 
Cherokee  lands,  I was  influenced  not  only  by  what  I considered 
justice  to  our  Indian  population,  but  due  to  the  present  Adminis- 
tration of  the  General  Government.  The  firmness  with  which 
Gen.  Jackson  has  sustained  his  policy  of  removing  the  Indian 
tribes  from  the  States,  and  placing  them  in  the  only  situation  in 
which  their  existence  can  be  continued,  or  in  which  they  can 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


461 


acquire  the  arts  of  civilized  life  ; his  prompt  acknowledgment 
of  the  rights  of  this  State  to  extend  its  laws  qver  all  its  territory, 
and  the  exertions  which  he  had  made,  and  is  now  making,  to 
remove  the  Cherokees  from  beyond  our  limits,  imposed  upon  the 
State  the  strongest  obligation  to  avoid  the  adoption  of  any  policy 
which  would  conflict  with  that  of  the  United  States.  Upon  no 
subject  have  stronger  efforts  been  made  to  excite  the  prejudices 
of  the  people  against  Gen.  Jackson,  and  to  prevent  his  re-elec- 
tion, than  his  efforts  to  do  justice  to  Georgia,  And  shall  we 
give  effect  to  these  unprincipled  efforts,  by  adopting  such  meas- 
ures as  must  either  sacrifice  our  best  friends,  or  force  them,  under 
the  pressure  of  public  opinion,  to  resist  their  execution  ? Grati- 
tude and  policy  both  forbid. 

The  disagreeable  circumstances  which  accompanied 
my  defeat  were  soon  forgotten  in  the  pleasurable  sense 
of  relief  from  the  labor,  excitement,  and  exactions  of 
office,  and  in  the  sense  of  gladness  created  by  home, 
kind  neighbors  and  friends,  and  the  power  of  doing  as 
inclination  led  me. 

I was  soon  after  put  in  nomination  by  the  State- 
rights  party,  for  one  of  the  representatives  of  the  State 
in  Congress. 

My  wife  and  myself  spent  part  of  the  next  summer 
in  Virginia.  We  had  been  separated  from  our  affec- 
tionate relatives  and  friends  there  longer  than  we  had 
ever  been  before.  We  greatly  enjoyed  the  meeting, 
and  social  intercourse  with  them.  Whilst  we  were  in 
Virginia,  Robert  Grattan,  my  wife’s  brother,  married 
Martha  Minor,  daughter  of  Peter  and  Lucy  Minor  of 
Albemarle.  The  bride  was  a capital  addition  to  our 
family  circle,  giving  a foreshadowing  of  what  an  ad- 
mirable wife,  fond  mother,  and  kind  kinswoman  she 
has  since  proved  herself  to  be. 

Whilst  I was  in  Rockingham,  I read  in  the  news- 
papers the  copy  of  a letter  which  had  been  addressed 


462 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


to  me  as  one  of  the  candidates  for  Congress,  by  a meet- 
ing of  a portion  of  the  citizeus  of  Richmond  County, 
demanding  my  opinions  of  the  political  doctrines  then 
being  disseminated  by  the  party  in  South  Carolina, 
headed  by  Mr.  Calhoun,  and  known  as  the  Nullifiers. 
The  following  was  my  answer : 

Rockingham,  Virginia,  Sept.  1th,  1832. 

To  the  Citizens  of  Richmond  County. 

I have  seen  published  in  the  Augusta  Constitutionalist  of 
the  21st  of  August,  the  proceedings  of  a meeting  of  Richmond 
County,  at  which  a committee  were  appointed  to  ascertain  by 
direct  correspondence  with  the  candidates  for  Congress,  “ their 
sentiments  in  regard  to  nullification.”  My  absence  from  Georgia 
has  probably  prevented  my  receiving  the  communication  of  the 
committee.  I have  therefore  thought  it  my  duty  to  address  you 
directly,  lest  the  object  of  the  call  upon  me  should  be  defeated. 
My  answer  is,  that  I do  not  believe  that  a State  can  render  a 
law  of  Congress  null  and  void,  which  has  been  passed  upon  a 
subject  over  which  Congress  lias,  by  the  Constitution,  the  exclu- 
sive power  of  legislation.  I am,  therefore,  no  advocate  for  the 
adoption  of  nullification  to  remedy  the  evil  of  the  tariff. 

This  answer  might  be  misconceived,  were  it  not  extended  to 
the  other  important  matters  embraced  within  your  resolutions. 

I cannot  concur  with  you  in  the  opinion,  that  “ the  tariff 
recently  enacted  is  a decided  amelioration  of  the  system.”  Its 
inequality  and  want  of  uniformity  has  certainly  been  increased. 

I cannot  agree  with  my  fellow-citizens  of  Richmond  County, 
that  the  evils  of  the  tariff  have  been  greatly  exaggerated.  It 
would,  indeed,  be  difficult  to  exaggerate  the  injustice  and  tyranny 
of  our  present  system  of  taxation  and  public  expenditures,  which 
has  been  made  so  to  operate  upon  different  sections  of  our 
country,  as  to  render  it  an  object  of  eager  desire  with  the  ma- 
jority. for  the  purpose  of  enlarging  their  individual  profits,  to 
increase  rather  than  lessen  their  amounts  ; and  especially  when 
that  system  has  been  adopted  in  violation  of  all  the  obligations 
which  bind  us  together  as  one  people.  Georgia  suffers  more 
oppressively  from  the  system  than  any  other  State  in  the  Union. 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


463 


I do  not-,  therefore,  think  that  its  evils  ought  to  be  palliated  by 
any  portion  of  her  citizens. 

I cannot  agree  with  you,  £1  that  it  is  advisable  for  the  present 
to  leave  the  subject  of  the  tarilf  to  the  State  Legislature,”  be- 
cause all  that  can  be  done  has  already  been  tried,  by  resolutions, 
threats  and  protests,  without  producing  the  slightest  effect  upon 
the  fixed  majority  in  Congress.  I consider  it  more  advisable  to 
refer  the  subject  to  a State  convention,  as  recommended  at  the 
meetings  which  have  been  held  in  many  counties,  with  the  hope 
that  it  may  lead  to  one  united  effort  on  the  part  of  Southern 
States,  to  procure  a repeal  of  the  tariff,  as  the  only  practicable 
means  by  which  that  object  can  be  effected.  I,  however,  entirely 
coincide  with  you  in  the  opinion,  that  the  acts  of  such  a conven- 
tion will  not  be  obligatory  upon  the  people,  without  their  subse- 
quent approval. 

I have  thus,  in  answer  to  your  requirement,  given  you  briefly, 
and,  I hope,  with  sufficient  distinctness,  my  views  upon  a sub- 
ject of  great  interest  to  us  all.  I have  not  thought  that  the 
occasion  called  for  any  elaborate  reasoning  in  their  support,  or 
that  they  should  be  extended  beyond  the  matters  contained  in 
your  resolutions. 

With  sentiments  of  great  respect, 

Your  fellow-citizen, 

George  R.  Gilmer. 

In  the  election  which  followed,  I received  but  little 
support  from  the  union  party.  The  nullifiers,  though 
not  satisfied  with  my  answer,  could  not  very  well  avoid 
giving  me  their  votes.  Although  elected,  it  was  evi- 
dent that  my  moderate  opinions,  when  every  body  else 
was  talking  furiously,  were  creating  distrust.  Circum- 
stances soon  after  developed  what  had  been  for  some 
time  the  tendencies  of  the  political  parties  in  the  State. 
The  protective  tarilf  policy  of  the  General  Government 
was  then  the  great  subject  of  interest. 

Judge  Berrien,  Judge  Clayton,  and  other  adherents 
of  Mr.  Calhoun,  were  soon  after  found  actively  engaged 


461 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


in  collecting  tlie  people  together,  making  speeches,  and 
using  other  means  of  opposition  to  General  Jackson’s 
administration,  and  the  existing  tariff  laws.  They  suc- 
ceeded in  getting  up  a great  convention,  with  the  de- 
sign of  effecting  their  purposes  through  what  it  might 
be  induced  to  do.  The  friends  of  Mr.  Van  Buren  were 
equally  active  in  their  preparations  for  defence.  They 
endeavored  to  secure  ascendency  in  the  proposed  anti- 
tariff  convention,  when  they  found  that  they  could  not 
prevent  its  assembling.  The  nullifiers  and  union-men 
met  in  Milledgeville,  in  November,  1832.  I was  absent 
from  the  State  when  the  preparations  for  the  struggle 
wrere  making.  I was  selected  for  one  of  the  members  of 
the  convention,  by  the  people  of  Oglethorpe  County, 
without  having  been  consulted  upon  the  subject.  It 
was  known  that  my  political  principles  were  democratic, 
that  I was  thoroughly  opposed  to  the  existing  protec- 
tive tariff  laws,  and  that  I had  long  been  opposed  to 
the  election  of  Mr.  Calhoun  to  the  Presidency.  The 
first  act  of  the  convention  was  the  selection  of  its  pre- 
siding officer.  Both  parties  being  somewhat  distrust- 
ful of  their  strength,  concurred  sufficiently  in  choosing 
me,  to  prevent  an  immediate  trial  of  their  relative 
strength.  Mr.  Forsyth  -was  the  controlling  spirit  of  the 
Van  Buren,  or  union  party.  Judge  Berrien  and  Judge 
Clayton  directed  the  course  of  the  nullifiers,  or  friends 
of  Mr.  Calhoun.  Mr.  Forsyth  exerted  his  extraordinary 
eloquence  and  tact  to  prevent  the  organization  of  the 
convention.  When  he  discovered  that  the  friends  of 
Mr.  Van  Buren  were  in  the  minority,  he  induced  them 
to  withdraw.  This  separation  did  not  secure  unanimity 
among  those  who  remained.  Many  of  the  democratic 
members,  who  had  gone  into  the  convention  for  the 
purpose  of  uniting  public  opinion  at  the  South  against 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


465 


the  tariff,  and  devising  plans  for  its  repeal,  concurred 
with  me  in  dissenting  from  the  doctrines  of  the  nulli- 
fiers.  The  convention  broke  up  without  doing  any 
thing  satisfactory  to  any  body. 

A few  days  after  my  return  home,  I received  a let- 
ter from  James  Liddell,  a leading  member  of  the  Legis- 
lature, in  which  he  stated  that  he  had  heard  a portion 
of  my  remarks  against  the  doctrine  of  nullification,  that 
he  did  not  understand  the  subject,  wished  to  be  in- 
formed, and  asked  me  to  give  him  my  views  fully,  say- 
ing that  my  letter  should  be  considered  strictly  confi- 
dential. I wrote  to  him  what  my  opinions  were  about 
the  resolutions  which  had  been  adopted  by  the  con- 
vention, particularly  that  which  set  forth  the  extreme 
opinions  of  Mr.  Calhoun,  of  the  power  of  a State  to 
control  the  legislation  of  Congress  on  the  subject  of 
the  tariff,  stating  to  him  that  they  were  given  to  him- 
self, and  not  for  others,  or  the  public.  I was  then 
cautious,  because  I wished  to  avoid  writing  any  thing 
which  could  be  used  against  my  party  friends.  I kept 
a copy  of  my  letter.  When  the  democratic  State- 
rights  part}7  were  about  selecting  a candidate  for 
Governor  in  1857,  those  who  were  opposed  to  my 
being  the  candidate,  and  desirous  that  Judge  Clayton 
should  be,  obtained  a mutilated  copy  of  my  letter  to 
Liddell,  and  used  it  to  excite  the  nullifiers  into  oppo- 
sition to  my  nomination.  I was  in  Virginia  whilst  this 
intrigue  was  going  on.  Upon  being  informed  of  it,  I 
wrote  to  Liddell,  that  I had  heard  of  his  having  com- 
municated to  others  the  contents  of  my  letter,  and 
asked  him  to  send  me  a copy.  The  sorry  fellow, 
having  no  suspicion  that  I had  kept  a cojiy,  answered 
that  he  thought  the  letter  did  me  great  honor,  sent  a 
copy  of  the  part  which  he  knew  to  be  offensive  to  the 

30 


466 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


nullifiers,  and  omitted  that  which  qualified  what  made 
it  so,  averring  that  his  eyes  were  so  sore,  and  he  so 
unwell,  that  it  was  as  much  as  he  could  do  to  copy 
what  he  sent.  I soon  after  saw  Judge  Clayton  and 
General  Harris,  who  had  been  very  busy  circulating 
Liddell’s  mutilated  copy  of  my  letter,  showed  them  the 
entire  copy,  and  convinced  them  that  they  had  been 
misled. 

Those  who  are  engaged  in  politics  in  highly  excit- 
ing party  struggles,  are  usually  driven  by  experience 
to  keep  their  bump  of  caution  well  rubbed.  I met 
with  many  other  difficulties  in  going  on  in  my  own 
way  during  the  excitement  which  preceded  the  con- 
vention, distinguished  its  discussions,  and  followed  its 
adjournment.  To  maintain  the  position  of  middle-man, 
which  is  generally  assumed  to  avoid  responsibility  and 
curry  favor,  required  all  my  fortitude.  As  the  hubbub 
passed  away,  I was  cheered  by  the  approving  voice  of 
those  whose  approbation  was  most  agreeable  to  me. 

In  May,  1833,  a convention  of  the  people  of  the 
State  assembled  in  Milledgeville,  to  consult  about  the 
best  manner  of  reducing  the  number  of  the  members 
of  the  Legislature,  and  equalizing  the  representation  of 
the  people  in  that . body.  William  H.  Crawford  and 
myself  were  two  of  the  members  for  the  County  of 
Oglethorpe.  Mr.  Crawford  was  voted  for  by  the 
State-rights  party  to  preside  over  the  convention.  Lie 
was  beaten  by  Judge  Wayne,  the  candidate  of  the 
Van  Buren  party,  by  nearly  two  votes  to  one.  Judge 
Wayne  received  151,  and  Mr.  Crawford  88.  The 
amendments  to  the_j  Constitution,  proposed  by  the 
convention  for  the  ratification  of  the  people,  being 
intended  for  securing  party  ascendency  instead  of  the 
rights  of  the  people,  were  rejected  at  the  polls.  The 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


467 


time  chosen  for  assembling  the  convention  proved  to 
be  very  unpropitious  for  arriving  at  beneficial  results. 
The  anti-tariff  nullification  convention  which  preceded 
it,  had  created  a state  of  factious  party  spirit,  which 
controlled  every  effort  for  the  general  good. 

My  wife  accompanied  me  to  Milledgeville.  We 
passed  our  time  very  pleasantly  among  many  excellent 
friends.  Indeed,  the  difficulty  was  to  find  leisure 
enough,  from  my  necessary  attendance  upon  the  con- 
vention, to  enjoy  their  hospitality.  Before  we  left 
home,  we  agreed  to  go  to  Alabama,  on  a visit  to  my 
relations  there.  My  wife  insisted  that  I should  direct 
the  time  and  place  of  our  visitings,  as  I had  always 
urged  upon  her  to  do  when  we  were  among  her  rela- 
tions in  Virginia.  The  day  we  left  home,  she  began 
to  prescribe  where  we  should  dine,  and  where  we 
should  sup,  <fcc.  I laughingly  reminded  her  of  her 
previous  proposal,  that  I should  control  our  visiting 
until  our  return  home.  She  replied,  that  she  did  not 
intend  that  my  absolutism  should  commence  till  we  got 
to  Alabama ; but  that,  if  I so  desired,  she  was  content. 
She  declined  accepting  any  invitations,  referring  every 
one  to  me.  When  the  applications  were  accordingly 
made,  I did  not  know  what  she  wanted,  and,  as  that 
was  what  I wished  to  do,  I was  very  much  bothered. 
The  third  night  after  we  retired  to  bed,  I told  her  I 
was  tired  t6  death  doing  as  I pleased,  and  that  if  she 
ever  told  me  again  to  do  so,  I would  not  forgive  her. 
She  has  constantly  kept  in  mind  this  injunction. 

When  the  convention  adjourned,  we  went  on  our 
way  to  Alabama.  As  we  passed  from  Columbus  to 
Montgomery,  through  the  Creek  territory,  I saw  many 
collections  of  the  people  of  that  most  numerous  tribe 
of  Southern  Indians.  I found  them  less  civilized,  and 


468 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPFER  GEORGIA. 


uglier  in  features,  tlian  the  Cherokees.  They  showed 
the  same  mixture  of  the  blood  of  the  whites  in  their 
influential  chiefs,  and  well-dressed  and  best-looking 
women.  White  men  occupied  many  of  the  public 
houses  on  the  road,  and  productive  plantations.  The 
United  States  had  shortly  before  made  a treaty  with 
the  chiefs  for  a cession  of  lands,  in  which  a great  many 
reservations  were  secured  to  individual  Indians.  These 
reservations  had  been,  from  the  time  of  the  making  of 
the  treaty,  the  subject  of  eager  speculation  on  the  part 
of  the  whites. 

I found  the  fertile  lands  of  Montgomery  settled  up 
with  active  intelligent  wealthy  citizens,  who  had  been 
drawn  to  it  from  the  old  States,  by  the  many  great  ad- 
vantages which  it  afforded  to  those  who  desired  to  in- 
crease their  riches.  The  rapid  accumulation  of  wealth 
whetted  the  appetite  for  getting  money,  until  the  peo- 
ple could  not  be  satisfied  with  any  quantity  acquired. 
It  was  a subject  of  wondering  cogitation  for  me,  who 
had  for  many  years  been  constantly  taken  up  with  the 
affairs  of  the  government,  and  the  strife  of  party  pol- 
itics, to  listen  to  my  Montgomery  friends  talking  with- 
out ceasing  of  cotton,  negroes,  land  and  money.  I had 
never  myself  bought  negroes,  or  made  profit  out  of 
their  labor,  accumulated  any  money  by  speculation,  cul- 
tivated cotton,  or  been  engaged  in  any  way  in  the  occu- 
pations which  were  stimulating  them  to  incessant  exer- 
tions. The  spirit  of  devotion  to  politics  and  the  strong 
desire  to  accumulate  wealth,  find  but  few  common  sub- 
jects of  interest. 

Great  as  were  the  advantages  for  money-making, 
which  belonged  to  this  new  country,  the  people  were 
not  contented.  Every  body  was  agog,  and  ready  to 
sell  out,  and  move  off.  When  any  one  breaks  away 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


469 


from  liis  Dative  homestead,  and  goes  among  strange  peo- 
ple, lie  seldom  finds  wliat  lie  seeks  for,  but  goes  on 
hunting  for  a better  home,  until  his  resting-place  is  un- 
der the  sod. 

I found  a kinsman  of  mine  there,  who  had  been  my 
school-fellow  and  neighbor  in  Georgia.  He  married 
there,  cultivated  a good  plantation,  and  was  growing  rich 
in  the  country  of  his  birth.  The  temptation  offered  by 
the  rich  lands  of  Alabama,  made  him  sell  out.  He  ac- 
quired a large  tract  of  land  of  the  greatest  fertility, 
and  made  money  rapidly  beyond  example.  His  land 
increased  in  value,  until  he  was  offered  ten  dollars  per 
acre  for  it.  He  heard  that  lands  of  equal  production 
could  be  purchased  in  Texas  for  twenty-five  cents  per 
acre.  He  had  left  his  house  and  family  to  search  for 
lands  in  Texas,  then  inhabited  by  Spaniards  and  Indians, 
and  was  the  receptacle  of  robbers  and  cutthroats  of  all 
sorts.  This  money  mania  proved  so  contagious,  that 
my  carriage  driver  was  overheard  offering  to  lend  a 
fellow  driver  forty  thousand  dollars. 

I returned  to  Lexington  pleased  with  having  seen 
the  prosperity  of  my  kinsfolk,  convinced  that  a great 
quantity  of  land,  many  negroes,  and  much  money  were 
not  necessary  for  my  happiness ; and  thankful  that  I 
was  permitted  to  enjoy  where  I was  born,  a competen- 
cy of  these  good  things. 

The  lawsuit  of  which  I am  about  to  give  an  ac- 
count, developes  a case  of  fraud  and  oppression,  more 
after  the  fashion  of  the  finished  vice  of  Europe,  than 
what  we  are  accustomed  to  in  this  country. 

Many  murders  have  been  prevented  by  the  adage, 
“ Murder  will  out.”  If  the  maxim,  “ Fraud  will  be 
punished,”  was  as  universally  believed  in,  the  amount 
of  consequent  good  might  be  beyond  calculation. 


470 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


Francis  Meson,  an  Irishman,  taught  school  for  man}7 
years  in  Oglethorpe  Comity,  and  until  his  savings,  and 
the  credit  which  he  acquired  by  his  honesty,  capacity, 
and  industry,  enabled  him  to  become  a merchant.  He 
traded  so  successfully,  that  when  he  died  in  1806,  he 
left  an  estate  of  near  $40,000 ; one  portion  of  which 
he  bequeathed  to  William  II.  Crawford,  his  lawyer; 
another  to  George  Phillips,  his  physician ; another  to 
Robert  Allison,  his  countryman  and  friend  ; another 
to  a boy  who  was  reputed  to  be  near  akin  to  him ; and 
the  remainder  to  endow  an  academy  in  Lexington. 
Robert  Allison’s  legacy  amounted  to  about  six  thousand 
dollars.  The  legatee  was  an  honest,  hard-working,  eco- 
nomical man.  He  laid  out  his  legacy  in  the  purchase  of 
negroes,  and  went  on  thriving  until  his  death.  He  left  a 
widow,  two  sons,  and  two  daughters.  One  of  the  sons 
married,  moved  away,  and  died.  Robert,  the  other, 
became  a sot,  and  soon  after  insolvent.  Nancy,  one  of 
the  daughters,  was  equally  unfortunate  in  getting  rid 
of  her  property  ; so  that  the  widow,  and  Margaret,  the 
other  daughter,  after  a few  years,  owned  whatever  of 
the  estate  was  left  unsquandered. 

Bob  F ’s  father,  and  old  Robert  Allison,  were 

near  neighbors.  Bob  F and  the  Allison  children 

were  schoolmates  and  associates,  as  they  grew  up. 

When  Bob  F became  a man  and  a merchant,  the 

Allisons  traded  almost  exclusively  with  him.  When 
he  left  off  selling  goods,  and  moved  from  Lexington 
into  the  country,  the  Allisons  by  his  persuasion  rented 
a part  of  the  land  on  which  he  lived,  so  as  to  be  close 
by  him.  They  owned  at  the  time  twenty  very  likely 
negroes,  whom  they  regarded,  Irish  people  like,  as  a 

part  of  their  family.  These  twenty  negroes  Bob  F 

coveted,  and  determined  to  make  his  own. 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


471 


The  widow  and  her  daughter  became  very  much 
involved  in  debt,  principally  on  account  of  the  liabili- 
ties which  they  had  incurred  for  their  drunken  son  and 
brother.  They  were  very  plain,  hard-working,  and 
economical.  The  debts  which  they  made  on  their  own 
account,  were  for  their  plantation,  which  was  very 

profitable.  Bob  F- constantly  pressed  his  counsel 

and  assistance  upon  them,  took  the  entire  management 
of  their  affairs,  supplied  them  with  whatever  they 
stood  in  need  of,  bought  their  crops  of  cotton,  hired 
many  of  their  negroes  and  bought  others,  agreeing 
that  the  amount  due  therefor  should  be  applied  to  the 
discharge  of  Robert  Allison’s  and  their  debts.  Neither 
the  widow  or  daughter  could  write,  or  read  writing  un- 
derstand ingly.  They  trusted  their  pretended  friend  so 
implicitly,  that  they  were  in  the  habit  of  putting  their 
mark  to  whatever  papers  he  presented  to  them  for 
signature.  It  was  his  practice  to  prepare  the  papers 
which  he  wanted  them  to  sign  at  his  own  house,  carry 
them  to  them,  and  request  them  to  make  their  mark, 
saying  that ;c  the  papers  are  all  fixed,”  so  that  they  might 
have  no  suspicion  how  their  amounts  were  made  up. 
They  had  no  relation,  neighbor,  or  friend,  to  whom 
they  could  look  for  advice  or  assistance,  except  Robert 
Allison,  whose  conduct  only  increased  their  difficulties. 

Bob  F having  cut  them  off  from  all  association 

with  those  who  could  be  of  service  to  them,  often  told 
them  to  trust  entirely  to  him,  and  not  to  let  their  left 
hand  know  what  their  right  hand  did.  In  this  way,  and 
with  many  other  contrivances  carried  on  for  ten  years, 
he  finally  got  their  marks  to  a note  for  $3,700,  and  a 
mortgage  deed  for  thirteen  negroes  to  secure  its  pay- 
ment, though  he  was  at  the  time  in  debt  to  them. 

The  widow  and  daughter  took  of  Robert  Allison 


472 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


for  the  large  amount  of  money  which  they  paid  for 

him,  seven  negroes.  Bob  F made  them  believe 

that  these  negroes  were  liable  for  other  debts  of 
Robert  Allison  which  were  still  unsatisfied.  When  he 
found  them  sufficiently  alarmed  for  his  purpose,  he 
bought  a small  execution  against  Robert  Allison,  placed 
it  in  the  hands  of  the  deputy  sheriff,  who  was  a creature 
of  his,  took  him  with  him  to  the  widow’s  house, 
beckoned  Peggy  aside,  told  her  that  he  had  found  out 
that  the  sheriff  had  come  to  levy  upon  the  negroes 
which  she  and  her  mother  had  bought  of  her  brother, 
advised  her  to  secrete  them,  promising  that  if  she 
would  send  them  to  him,  he  would  keep  them  out  of 
the  sheriff’s  way.  When  the  negroes  were  accordingly 
put  into  his  possession,  he  made  the  widow  and  daugh- 
ter believe  that  it  had  become  impossible  to  save  them 
from  the  sheriff’s  hands  without  rendering  himself  re- 
sponsible for  Robert  Allison’s  debts,  and  so  excited  their 
fears  of  losing  the  negroes  entirely,  that  they  sold  them 
to  him  for  about  half  their  value.  When  he  had  thus 
stript  them  of  all  their  property,  except  the  negroes 
mortgaged  to  him  to  pay  the  note  of  $3,700,  he  threw 
off  the  mask  of  devotion  to  their  interest,  foreclosed 
the  mortgage,  had  the  negroes  levied  on,  aud  advertised 
for  sale.  Horror  stricken  at  his  perfidy,  the  loss  of  the 
negroes  to  whom  they  were  affectionately  attached, 
and  the  prospect  of  poverty,  they  applied  to  me  to 
aid  them  with  such  protection  as  could  be  had  from 
the  law.  I brought  a bill  in  equity  for  them  against 

Bob  F , in  which  I stated  the  various  frauds  and 

impositions  which  he  had  practised  upon  them.  How 
he  had  won  their  confidence  and  love  by  his  pre- 
tended friendship;  how  he  had  got  them  into  his 
power,  by  inducing  them  to  put  their  marks  to  papers 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


473 


the  contents  of  which  were  unknown  to  them ; how 
he  had  charged  them  twenty-five  per  cent,  upon  the 
several  sums  he  advanced  for  them  in  payment  of 
theirs  and  Robert  Allison’s  debts,  and  again  and  again, 
the  same  per  cent.,  as  they  had  renewed  their  notes 
from  time  to  time ; and  that  the  consideration  of  the 
note  of  $3,700  for  the  payment  of  which  their  negroes 
were  about  to  be  sold,  if  founded  upon  any  considera- 
tion at  all,  was  made  up  partly  of  charges  of  interest 
at  twenty-five  per  cent.,  and  compound  interest  at  the 
same  rate.  The  bill  further  stated  that  the  widow  and 
daughter  were  so  poor  and  friendless  that  no  one  would 
be  their  security:  that  they  had  endeavored,  but  in 
vain,  to  comply  with  the  law  requiring  security  upon 
injunctions,  and  that  they  had  offered  to  let  the  ne- 
groes remain  in  the  possession  of  Bob  F , where 

they  then  were,  until  the  suit  should  be  determined, 
in  lieu  of  the  security  which  they  were  required  to 
give. 

At  the  first  term  of  the  court  after  the  service  of 

the  bill  on  Bob  F , he  moved  that  the  injunction 

should  be  dissolved  for  want  of  security.  I urged  upon 
the  court  in  opposition,  his  possession  of  the  negroes, 
and  renewed  the  offer  of  the  widow  and  daughter  that 
he  should  keep  them  as  he  had  expressed  his  willing- 
ness to  do,  till  he  had  discovered  their  inability  to  give 
other  security.  I stated  how  he  had  secluded  them 
from  all  intercourse  with  others  until  they  were  en- 
tirely without  friends  ; how  he  had  preyed  upon  their 
property  until  they  had  none  ; and  all  his  other  ras- 
cally arts  to  get  them  into  his  power.  I met  only 
with  rebuff  from  the  judge  for  my  denunciations.  His 
honor,  though  one  of  the  shrewdest  of  men  in  judging 
of  character,  and  himself  perfectly  honest,  had,  like 


474 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


every  body  else,  failed  to  look  through  Bob.  He  was 
his  nearest  neighbor,  and  very  good  friend.  He  ap- 
preciated him  highly  as  an  active  member  of  the 
Legislature,  and  a political  partisan  of  the  right  sort. 
He  ordered  the  injunction  to  be  dissolved.  The  negroes 
were  soon  after  sold  by  the  sheriff,  and  for  far  less  than 
their  value. 

When  I was  about  preparing  the  bill  in  equity,  I 
Avent  to  the  house  of  the  widow  and  her  daughter,  to 
make  myself  familiar  with  the  facts  upon  which  it  was 
to  be  founded.  I asked  them  for  all  the  accounts, 

notes,  bonds,  and  executions  which  Bob  F had 

paid  off  for  them  and  their  brother,  and  any  other 
papers  in  their  possession,  which  might  in  any  way  re- 
late to  the  case.  They  told  me  that  Bob  F had 

requested  them  to  put  all  such  papers  into  the  fire. 
After  a good  deal  of  conversation  and  inquiry,  Peggy 
recollected  that  there  were  some  papers  in  the  rag  box 
under  the  bed.  The  rag  box  was  brought  out,  and 
searched.  I found  a slip  of  paper  having  on  it  calcula- 
tions at  twenty-five  per  cent.,  in  the  figures  and  hand- 
writing which  I knew  to  be  Bob  F 5s,  of  the  several 

debts  of  Robert  Allison,  the  widow,  and  her  daughter, 
which  made  up  the  note  of  $3,700.  I had,  therefore, 
charged  in  the  bill,  with  perfect  confidence,  that  the 

debt  which  Bob  F was  collecting  from  the  widow 

and  her  daughter  was  partly  made  up  of  sums  of  in- 
terest calculated  at  twenty-five  per  cent. 

Bob  F , ignorant  of  the  existence  of  the  paper 

which  I had  found,  and  supposing  that  all  had  been 
burnt  which  had  passed  between  him,  the  widow,  and 
her  daughter ; in  his  answer  to  the  bill  he  perjured 
himself,  by  swearing  that  he  had  never  charged  them 
more  than  lawful  interest  but  twice,  and  then  upon 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


475 


inconsiderable  debts.  I was  a member  of  Congress 
elect  at  the  time.  My  health  became  so  bad,  whilst  I 
was  at  Washington  City,  and  during  the  next  summer, 
that  I did  not  return  home.  I put  the  papers  which 

proved  Bob  F ’s  perjury  into  the  hands  of  the 

lawyer  who  represented  me  in  my  law  cases  in  Ogle- 
thorpe County,  and  requested  him  to  use  it  to  make 

Bob  F do  ample  j ustice  to  my  clients.  When  my 

representative  showed  Bob  F the  paper  on  which 

he  had  calculated  interest  at  twenty-five  per  cent.,  he 
surrendered  at  discretion,  pleaded  poverty,  and  told  all 
manner  of  lies,  so  that  he  was  not  only  permitted  to 
escape  the  penitentiary,  but  got  off  without  doing  much 
more  than  half  justice  to  my  injured  clients.  Though 
he  was  the  richest  man  in  the  community,  he  tried, 
before  the  trial  came  on,  to  excite  the  sympathy  of  the 
people,  by  walking  to  town  and  telling  those  whom  he 
met,  that  he  was  about  to  be  made  so  poor  by  the 
Allisons  that  he  could  not  allow  himself  a horse  to 
ride. 

On  the  first  public  day  after  my  return  home  from 

Washington  City,  Bob  F came  to  me  in  the  court 

yard,  and  asked  me  to  go  with  him  into  a private  room 
near  by.  He  was  stouter  than  I,  and  accustomed  to 
striking.  I felt  my  hand  grasping  my  stick,  expecting 
to  have  to  fight,  with  all  the  disadvantages  arising  from 
his  full  preparation  for  the  combat.  When  we  got 
into  the  room,  he  turned  upon  me  with  a very  submis- 
sive countenance,  and  said,  in  a conciliatory  voice,  that 
if  he  should  ever  be  again  a party  to  any  law  case,  he 
asked  me  to  consider  myself  retained  counsel  for  him. 
My  hand  let  go  the  grasp  upon  my  stick.  It  was  evi- 
dent that  he  felt  his  knavery  to  be  too  well  known  to 
fight  for  it.  When  he  found  that  he  had  worked  out 


476 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


his  row  of  rascality  in  the  field  of  Oglethorpe,  and  that 
no  future  crops  from  cheating  were  to  he  gathered 
there,  he  determined  to  move  away.  His  first  wife 
had  been  long  dead,  and  he  married  again.  He  had 
no  feeling  for  his  wife,  hut  jealousy.  He  had  no  chil- 
dren. He  made  his  will,  by  which  he  bequeathed 
most  of  his  property  to  his  own  kin.  Fearing  lest  his 
wife  might  find  the  will,  and  discover  its  contents,  if 
kept  in  his  house,  and  being  without  a friend,  he  put  it 
into  the  hands  of  a negro  woman,  who  had  been  his 
property,  lived  with  him  all  his  life,  and  whom  he 
trusted  more  than  any  one  else.  To  keep  his  wife  in 
the  dark  about  what  he  had  done,  he  told  her  and 
every  body  else  that  he  had  no  will.  When  it  was 
found  in  the  possession  of  the  negro  woman,  after  her 
death,  he  had  so  discredited  it  by  his  own  words,  that 
his  kin,  after  endeavoring  for  a long  time  to  establish 
it,  became  fearful  that  they  would  get  nothing,  com- 
promised with  the  widow,  the  lawyers  coming  in  for 
near  ten  thousand  dollars  for  their  share  of  his  ill-gotten 
gains.  His  wife  and  Tiis  kiiFare  yet  at  law ; conten- 
tion and  ill-will  having  been  Bob’s  only  certain  be- 
quests to  those  who  would  have  loved  his  memory  if 
he  had  followed  the  injunction,  Ho  unto  others  as  you 
would  that  they  should  do  unto  you.  Before  his  death, 
his  conscience  became  very  much  disturbed  about  what 
might  follow  the  final  judgment.  When  he  felt  his 
health  to  be  failing,  he  took  to  praying,  and  became  a 
professed  Christian.  But  cheating  had  been  so  long 
practised,  that  whenever  he  got  rid  of  the  imagination 
that  the  devil’s  claws  would  be  upon  him  to  plunge 
him  into  the  depths  below,  he  renewed  his  evil  doings. 
Whilst  in  a repenting  mood,  he  determined  to  move 
away  from  the  place  which  constantly  recalled  to  his 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


477 


memory  each  instance  of  his  guilt.  He  sold  his  land 
for  six  thousand  dollars.  He  ascertained  soon  after, 
that  the  purchaser  would  have  given  him  eight  thou- 
sand if  he  had  insisted  upon  that  price.  He  could  not 
bear  to  lose  so  large  a sum.  He  forged  a note  upon 
the  purchaser  for  two  thousand  dollars.  His  executor 
was  compelled,  for  his  own  safety,  to  sue  for  the  re- 
covery of  its  amount.  At  the  trial,  the  plaintiff,  the 
lawyers,  judge,  and  jury  concurred  in  the  belief,  that 

the  note  was  of  Bob  F ’s  own  making,  so  that  the 

fact  of  his  guilt  was  fixed  upon  his  memory  by  the 
record  of  the  court,  where  he  had  passed  all  his  days, 
until  a few  months  before  his  death. 

No  one  who  heard  his  prayers,  confessions,  and 
saw  the  streaming  tears  of  contrition  running  down  his 
face,  doubted  the  sincerity  of  his  repentance.  The 
forged  note,  the  will  made,  concealed,  and  lied  about 
whilst  he  was  thus  penitent,  proved  the  overpowering 
force  of  the  long  confirmed  habit  of  deceiving,  upon 
one  only  convicted  of  sin,  but  not  converted  from  it, 
and  adds  another  convincing  example  to  the  innumer- 
able instances  recorded  in  the  history  of  society,  of  the 
hopelessness  of  the  struggle  by  the  weakness  of  ad- 
vanced age,  to  change  into  virtue  the  vices  of  an  ill- 
spent  youth  and  manhood. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

Ix  December,  1833,  I went  to  Washington  City,  and 
took  my  seat  as  a member  of  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives. This  was  my  third  term  of  service  in  Congress. 
The  interval  from  the  last  had  been  sufficiently  long  to 


478 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


make  novelty  one  of  its  pleasures.  I met  many  old 
acquaintances,  for  whom  I had  great  respect  and  regard. 
I had  been  so  constantly  engaged  in  public  affairs  at 
home,  that  I had  kept  up  with  the  course  of  politics. 
My  wife  preferred  Lexington  to  Washington  City. 
She  accompanied  me,  however,  without  scolding,  be- 
cause I was  there  in  compliance  with  the  wish  of  my 
constituents  rather  than  my  own.  I had  voted  for 
General  Jackson  for  President  without  being  his  special 
adherent ; was  very  indifferent  about  my  relation  to 
parties  as  they  then  existed,  and  yet  sufficiently  inter- 
ested in  whatever  affected  the  state  of  the  country  to 
take  an  active  part  in  what  was  doing.  I had  felt  too 
much  the  weight  of  government  on  my  own  shoulders 
when  I was  first  initiated  into  the  public  service.  I 
was  now  easy  in  the  harness.  I occupied  a position 
whose  duties  were  familiar  to  me.  My  previous  offi- 
cial stations  had  made  me  acquainted  with  the  charac- 
ter of  the  Indians,  and  created  an  active  concern  in 
their  well-being.  I had  associated  with  me  on  the 
committee  on  Indian  affairs,  Horace  Everett,  of  Ver- 
mont, a plain,  sensible  man,  who  was  always  ready 
to  do  the  work  of  writing.  A scheme  was  concocted 
for  chan  Guo-  the  idle  habits  and  listless  nature  of  the 

O O 

Indians  into  activity,  by  giving  them  inducements 
to  labor ; and  of  civilizing  them,  by  elevating  the 
objects  of  their  ambition.  It  was  proposed  that  all 
the  Indian  tribes  west  of  the  Mississippi,  bordering 
immediately  on  the  frontiers  of  the  United  States, 
should  be  united  into  a general  government,  with 
power  to  establish  schools ; regulate  the  intercourse 
and  trade  between  the  tribes  of  the  confederacy,  and 
with  the  United  States  ; and  to  do  whatever  else  could 
be  done  by  themselves  for  the  improvement  of  the 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


479 


people  of  the  confederacy.  The  United  States  was  to 
be  represented  in  the  general  council  of  the  confeder- 
ated tribes  by  an  agent,  and  obliged  to  keep  a garrison 
at  the  place  of  its  assembling,  to  secure  peace  and  the 
enforcement  of  the  laws.  The  Indian  territory  was  to 
be  represented  in  Congress  by  a delegate.  It  so  hap- 
pened that  many  of  the  chiefs  of  the  Northern,  South- 
ern, and  Western  tribes  were  in  Washington  City  at 
the  time.  Among  those  who  met  the  committee,  and 
entered  into  the  discussions  of  the  plan  for  the  im- 
provement and  government  of  their  people,  were  John 
Ross,  Major  Ridge,  and  John  Ridge,  of  the  Cherokees 
in  Georgia;  Taylor  and  Van,  of  the  Cherokees  west  of 
the  Mississippi;  Chilly  McIntosh,  of  the  Creeks;  and 
the  principal  chief  of  the  Choctaws,  whose  name  I 
have  forgotten.  When  the  Indians  first  met  the  com- 
mittee, John  Ridge  rose,  and  addressed  me  in  the 
declamatory  manner  and  figurative  expressions  of  his 
people.  His  father,  Major  Ridge,  spoke  English  so 
badly,  that  he  conversed  with  the  members  of  the 
committee  through  an  interpreter.  He  was  a very 
large  man,  with  features  indicative  of  clear  perceptions. 
His  conduct  was  dignified,  and  his  whole  demeanor 
distinguished  for  propriety.  He  was  the  noblest  speci- 
men I ever  saw  of  an  Indian  uncrossed  with  the  blood 
of  the  whites.  His  son  John  described  him  to  be  the 
most  eloquent  of  all  his  tribe,  and,  in  proof  of  what  he 
said,  repeated  to  me  the  speech  he  had  made  to  his 
people  when  he  left  them  for  Washington  City. 
John’s  description  was  certainly  very  good.  John 
Ross  is  better  known  than  any  other  Indian  in  our 
country.  He  was  only  one  fourth  Indian  by  his  de- 
scent— the  other  three  fourths  being  Scotch  and  Amer- 
ican. He  had  all  the  calculating  shrewdness  indicated 


480 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


by  the  European  race  from  which  he  was  descended. 
The  Choctaw  chief  was  equal  in  ability,  if  not  superior, 
to  John  Ross,  and  with  less  of  the  blood  of  the  Indian. 
McIntosh  was  sprightly,  as  was  also  Taylor,  of  the 
Western  Cherokees.  I wish  I could  give  in  detail 
what  passed  between  the  committee  and  the  chiefs,  in 
consulting  about  the  formation  of  a general  government 
for  the  tribes.  But  as  I took  no  notes,  the  time  is  too 
long  past  to  remember  with  sufficient  accuracy  what 
occurred  to  justify  the  attempt.  I remember  that  the 
chiefs  concurred  in  the  opinion,  that  the  education  of 
their  young  men  among  the  whites  was  injurious  to  them, 
and  the  tribe  to  which  they  belonged.  They  said  that 
such  Indians  were  almost  always  discontented  and 
dissipated,  and  did  harm  by  them  example.  They 
desired  that  the  laws  relating  to  Indian  trade  and 
intercourse  should  be  repealed,  from  the  opinion  that 
trade  could  be  beneficially  carried  on  by  their  own 
people.  The  proposition  to  allow  the  territory  a dele- 
gate in  Congress,  afforded  the  chiefs  especial  gratifi- 
cation. 

In  October,  1774,  the  Virginians  and  Western  In- 
dians fought  at  Point  Pleasant,  on  the  Kanawha  River, 
the  greatest  of  all  their  numerous  battles.  The  fight 
commenced  in  the  morning,  and  continued  until  even- 
ing. The  Virginians  kept  possession  of  the  battle- 
ground and  the  slain.  A treaty  of  peace  was  concluded 
in  1777,  between  the  tribes  engaged  in  that  battle  and 
the  Government  of  the  Confederation,  through  their 
commissioner,  Thomas  Lewis,  my  grandfather.  That 
treaty  promised  to  the  Indians  a delegate  in  Congress. 
The  tribes  with  whom  it  was  negotiated,  were  some  of 
those  whose  organization  into  a general  government 
was  the  object  of  the  bill.  The  committee  was  not, 


FIBST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


481 


however,  entitled  to  the  credit  of  attempting  to  execute 
in  good  faith  the  promises  of  the  treaty  of  1777.  It 
was  not  known  to  the  members,  at  the  time  when  the 
bill  was  reported,  that  any  such  obligation  had  ever 
existed.  It  was  indeed  a singular  incident  that  I 
should  have  unconsciously  attempted  to  execute  a 
promise  made  by  my  grandfather  seventy  years  before. 

On  the  morning  of  the  day  when  the  bill  was  to 
be  acted  on  by  the  House  of  Representatives,  I went 
early  to  the  hall  to  prepare  some  materials  for  its  dis- 
cussion. I found  Mr.  Adams  in  his  seat.  I paid  my 
respects,  mentioned  to  him  the  subject  of  the  expected 
debate,  and  asked  him  if  he  would  aid  in  getting  the 
bill  passed.  lie  made  no  answer.  I saw  the  imps  of 
mischief  dancing  in  his  eyes,  and  was  unable  to  draw 
from  him  the  course  he  intended  to  pursue.  Judge 
Wayne,  who  was  then  a member  of  the  House,  spoke 
first,  in  advocation  of  the  bill.  Mr.  Adams  amused 
himself  by  a violent  philippic  against  its  passage ; — 
denouncing  the  scheme  as  the  most  perfect  despotism 
that  had  ever  been  imagined  since  the  tyrannies  of 
ancient  times.  He  dwelt  with  peculiar  severity  against 
the  clause  which  authorized  the  United  States  to  keep 
a detachment  of  troops  in  a fort  to  be  built  at  the 
place  of  holding  the  general  council.  The  invectives 
evidently  proceeded  from  the  recollection  of  the  abuse 
whieh  he  had  received  from  the  Georgians,  on  account 
of  his  endeavors  to  prevent  the  execution  of  the  Creek 
treaty  of  1825.  I had  no  opportunity  of  replying  to 
him.  Meeting  him  the  next  morning,  I asked  him  if 
he  remembered  that  the  United  States  had  then  a 
garrisoned  fort  within  the  limits  of  the  proposed 
Indian  territory  ? He  said  he  did  not.  I then  in- 
formed him  that  a fort  had  been  erected  there,  and  a 

31 


482 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


detachment  of  troops  stationed  in  it,  during  liis  admin- 
istration, and  apparently  by  liis  orders.  The  informa- 
tion amused  him  very  much.  Whilst  he  was  addressing 
the  House,  many  of  the  Indian  Chiefs  were  in  the 
gallery,  listening  very  attentively  to  him.  Before  he 
concluded,  John  Ridge  wrote,  and  sent  me  a note,  in 
which  he  said,  that  the  Northern  people  had  been  for 
a long  time  shedding  tears  over  them,  on  account  of 
their  degradation;  but  that  now,  when  the  time  had 
arrived  for  elevating  them,  they  were  the  first  to  desert 
their  cause. 

In  the  session  of  1827-28,  Congress  passed  a bill 
authorizing  the  subscription  of  $1,000,000  to  the  Chesa- 
peake and  Ohio  Canal  Company.  Mr.  Mercer  was  the 
mover  of  the  bill,  and  its  very  active  supporter.  The 
only  speech  in  opposition  was  made  by  myself.  After 
stating  many  objections  to  the  proposed  appropriation, 
the  difficulties  to  be  overcome  in  making  the  canal, 
and  the  improbability  that  it  would  yield  any  profit, 
I observed  that  one  portion  of  its  route  was  through 
the  valley  between  the  Blue  Ridge  and  the  Alleghany 
Mountains,  a country  unsurpassed  in  richness  of  soil, 
salubrity  of  climate,  picturesque  scenery,  and  the  in- 
dustrious habits  of  its  people.  It  was,  indeed,  I said, 
a most  lovely  land,  rendered  dear  to  me  by  a thousand 
tender  and  happy  recollections. 

In  the  same  speech  I compared  the  expenditure 
of  the  twenty  millions  of  money — the  conjectural 
amount  which  it  would  take  to  make  the  canal — to  sup- 
ply the  market  of  the  District  of  Columbia,  to  Col. 
Nick  Johnson’s  scheme  to  create  a fortune  for  his  first 
son,  by  planting  100,000  walnut  trees  along  the  lane 
through  his  plantation,  to  make  coffins  for  the  rich 
people  of  the  neighborhood. 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


483 


The  loug  session,  continued  confinement,  and  hard 
labor,  tired  out  all  the  members,  especially  those  who 
had  been  accustomed  to  the  country  and  active  life. 
Towards  its  close  a party  was  gotten  up  by  Mr.  Mercer 
and  the  Canal  Company,  for  Harper’s  Ferry.  From 
the  opposition  which  I had  made  to  the  Government 
appropriation  for  the  canal  in  1828,  I was  not  entitled 
to  be  one  of  the  invited.  Mr.  Mercer  was,  however, 
the  special  friend  of  my  wife’s  kinsfolk,  the  Gambles 
of  Richmond,  among  whom  he  had  met  her  in  former 
days.  So  I was  invited,  and  my  wife  authorized  to 
invite  any  ladies  of  her  acquaintance.  We  availed 
ourselves  of  the  days  when  the  two  Houses  adjourned 
for  cleansing  their  halls,  to  make  the  expedition.  A 
fine  band  of  music  attended  the  party.  The  weather 
was  charming.  Every  thing  was  novel,  the  boats,  the 
canal,  and  the  country.  The  change  from  the  constant 
employment  in  business  during  a long  session,  prepared 
the  members  for  enjoying  every  incident  and  sight  with 
peculiar  relish.  The  party  left  Washington  City  in 
the  morning,  and  arrived  at  Harper’s  Ferry  in  the  even- 
ing. The  next  day  was  spent  in  examining  the  public 
works,  and  enjoying  the  many  picturesque  views  creat- 
ed by  the  wonderful  pass  of  the  Shenandoah  River 
through 'the  Blue  Ridge  Mountain,  and  the  vast  piles 
of  rocks  on  each  side  of  it.  We  ascended  to  the  top 
of  the  high  hill  to  the  south  of  the  town,  where  we  saw 
the  Shenandoah  and  Potomac  Rivers  approaching  each 
other,  until  their  currents  united  and  passed  through 
an  opening  in  the  mountain  ivhicli  the  Shenandoah  had 
for  a hundred  miles  sought  for  without  success. 

I felt  a sort  of  selfish  right  to  enjoy  the  scene.  My 
great-grandfather  was  the  first  white  man  who  dwelt 
on  the  head-waters  of  the  Shenandoah.  Mine  and  my 


484 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


wife’s  ancestors  for  the  previous  hundred  years,  had 
lived  and  died  on  its  banks.  Many  of  our  nearest 
relations  still  resided  there.  It  was  my  wife’s  native 
place,  where  she  had  always  lived  until  she  accompanied 
me  to  Georgia.  A public  dinner  was  given  to  us, 
where  the  clever  people  of  the  town  and  neighborhood 
assembled  to  do  us  honor.  The  workmen  at  the  armory 
had  holiday  and  added  by  their  merriment  to  the 
pleasures  of  the  day.  Whilst  some  of  the  men  were 
washing  their  hands  at  the  run  of  water  near  the  shops, 
I happened  to  pass  by,  and  overheard  one  commenting 
upon  the  visitors.  He  observed  that  the  Adams  men 
were  the  lean  and  ill-favored  folks  at  Gen.  Rust’s,  that 
the  fat,  good-looking  men  at  the  public-house  were 
Jackson  men.  When  I joined  our  party  and  told  in 
the  presence  of  Mr.  Adams  what  I had  overheard,  he 
felt  it  very  sensibly  as  an  expression  of  popular  good 
will  for  Gen.  Jackson,  at  his  expense.  It  passed  away, 
however,  in  a moment,  the  only  moment  when  Mr. 
Adams  was  not  ready  to  do  his  full  share  of  talk  and 
laugh  during  the  trip.  The  next  day  we  returned  to 
Washington  City,  with  all  the  necessary  accompani- 
ments for  fun  and  frolic.  We  had  with  us  Hawes,  a 
member  of  Congress  from  Kentucky,  a western  rowdy 
boatman,  who  drank  brandy,  talked,  and  made  speeches 
all  day.  Mr.  Adams  never  quitted  his  company,  laugh- 
ing most  of  the  time  as  if  fun  wras  his  peculiar  enjoy- 
ment. Going  into  the  House  of  Representatives  early 
the  next  morning,  I paid  my  respects  to  him  and  asked 
him  how  he  was.  He  answered  smilingly  by  holding 
his  sides  to  indicate  their  soreness  from  laughing. 

The  removal  of  the  public  deposits  from  the  Bank 
of  the  United  States  by  President  Jackson,  excited  a 
long  and  animated  debate  in  both  Houses  of  Congress, 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


485 


and  great  agitation  throughout  the  country.  The  mea- 
sure was  high-handed,  and  the  means  used  not  according 
to  rule.  But  Gen.  Jackson’s  conduct  had  never  been 
controlled  by  what  others  had  said  or  done.  The  bank 
was  the  most  influential  instrument  of  the  Aristocratic 
party,  for  defeating  the  Democracy,  and  controlling  the 
President.  Gen.  Jackson  took  from  it  the  deposits  of 
the  money  of  the  government,  when  he  ascertained 
that  their  use  was  abused.  The  contest  for  rechartering 
the  bank,  and  for  party  ascendency,  was  carried  on 
with  all  the  materials  which  could  be  made  to  bear 
upon  the  subject.  The  managers  of  the  bank  created 
dismay  among  the  merchants  and  others  accustomed  to 
use  its  money  and  credit  for  carrying  on  business,  by 
curtailing  its  circulation.  The  classes  injuriously  affected 
thereby,  instead  of  endeavoring  to  change  the  direction 
of  the  bank,  sent  deputation  after  deputation  to  the 
President,  to  represent  to  him  the  ruinous  condition 
of  the  business  men  of  the  country,  occasioned  by  his 
act  of  removing  the  public  deposits.  Gen.  Jackson’s 
temper  gave  way.  The  deputations  were  increased  in 
numbers  and  frequency,  so  as  to  drive  him  to  despera- 
tion, resignation,  or  such  acts  as  might  change  the  state 
of  parties. 

I went  to  wait  upon  the  President,  to  introduce  a 
friend,  whilst  these  deputations  were  making  their  calls. 
I heard  him  answer  the  set  speech  from  the  rich 
merchants  of  Philadelphia  Avitk  such  fury  of  feeling, 
that  froth  began  to  gather  about  his  mouth.  Though 
thus  maddened  in  his  temper,  his  purpose  was  not  to 
be  shaken.  His  friends  succeeded,  after  a while,  in 
stopping  the  reception  of  suppliants  for  the  bank. 

I was  opposed  to  rechartering  the  bank,  and  yet 
did  not  approve  of  the  means  used  by  Gen.  Jackson  for 


486 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


putting  it  down.  The  Georgia  members  of  Congress 
who  had  been  elected  on  the  same  ticket  with  myself, 
were  favorable  to  the  bank,  and  partisan  opponents  of 
Gen.  Jackson.  1 had  to  mark  out  a course  for  myself. 
The  speech  which  I made  upon  the  subject  was  pre- 
pared with  unusual  care  for  me,  whose  speaking  had 
been  usually  but  impromptu  efforts.  I give  extracts 
from  it  because  the  question  discussed  lias  been  of  con- 
tinued interest  from  the  commencement  of  the  gov- 
ernment. 

Mr.  Gilmer,  of  Georgia,  addressed  the  House  in  substance  as 
follows  : He  said  that  the  interest  excited  by  the  subject  under 

consideration  was  not  confined  to  the  great  commercial  cities,  or 
to  particular  sections  of  the  country — it  was  felt  every  w'here. 

Those  who  were  of  the  opinion  that  the  bank  was  entitled  by 
contract  to  the  public  deposits,  inferred  the  obligation  from  the 
bonus  of  $1,500,000  which  the  hank  paid  to  the  government,  for 
the  exclusive  privilege  and  benefits  conferred  upon  it  by  the 
law  of  its  incorporation.  That  inference,  however,  disregarded 
what  had  been  clearly  shown  to  be  true,  that  the  public  money 
was  deposited  in  the  bank,  not  for  the  benefit  of  the  bank,  but 
for  the  purposes  of  the  government.  The  inference  did  not  fol- 
low from  the  premises  for  another  reason.  The  control  of  the 
public  money  was  a trust,  which  the  government  could  not  part 
with  ; which  it  had  no  power  or  right  to  sell  to  the  bank  or  other 
corporate  body,  or  to  any  individual.  The  depository  of  the 
public  money. must,  like  the  money  itself,  be  kept  continually 
within  the  controlling  power  of  the  laws.  For  what,  then,  it 
was  asked,  did  the  bank  pay  the  bonus  of  $1,500,000  ? He 
answered  in  the  words  of  the  law,  for  the  exclusive  privileges 
and  benefits  conferred  upon  it  by  the  law  of  its  incorporation. 
Its  corporate  existence  for  twenty  years,  with  the  right  to  es- 
tablish branches  in  the  States,  exempt  from  their  authority ; to 
have  a capital  of  thirty-five  millions  ; to  hold  property,  includ- 
ing its  capital,  to  the  amount  of  fifty-five  millions  ; to  discount 
notes,  with  the  faith  of  the  government  pledged  that  no  other 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


487 


bank  should  be  chartered  during  its  existence ; and  that  its  notes 
should  be  received  in  payment  of  all  public  dues,  until  otherwise 
directed  by  law.  The  price  paid  for  these  privileges  was  ex- 
ceedingly cheap.  The  government  could  now  obtain  for  the 
same  grant,  five  times  the  price  paid  by  the  bank. 

It  would  have  been  a violation  of  the  trust  delegated  to  Con- 
gress to  have  sold  to  the  bank  the  possession  of  the  public  money  ; 
if  the  hank  was  made  the  depository  of  the  money  of  the  United 
States,  for  public  purposes,  and  not  for  the  benefit  of  the  bank  ; 
if  the  bonus  paid  by  the  bank  was  a very  small  consideration  for 
the  exclusive  privileges  and  benefits  conferred  upon  it,  then  the 
conclusion  was  irresistible,  that  the  bank  was  not  entitled  by 
contract  to  be  the  depository  of  the  money  of  the  United  States. 

But,  said  Mr.  G.,  what  kind  of  contract  was  that,  the  bene- 
fits of  wdiich  could  be  taken  away  from  the  party  paying  for  it, 
by  the  party  receiving  the  pay,  at  any  time,  without  conditions, 
and  without  the  consent  of  the  other  party  ? These  charges  of 
violated  rights,  and  plighted  faith,  and  broken  contracts,  brought 
against  the  government  by  the  bank,  and  sustained  by  its  advo- 
cates, could  not  be  used,  and  would  not  have  been  listened  to  for 
a moment,  but  that  all  the  elements  of  party  strife  contending  for 
power  had  been  mingled  with  private  interests  to  conceal  the 
truth  from  the  public  eye. 

Another  argument  had  been  used  for  the  purpose  of  enlarg- 
ing the  rights  of  the  bank,  which,  Mr.  G.  said,  he  had  been  sur- 
prised to  hear  addressed  to  the  American  Congress.  Public 
feeling  had  been  attempted  to  be  excited,  by  dwelling  on  the 
sacredness  of  chartered  rights.  The  House  had  been  solemnly 
warned  against  trifling  with  what  was  so  dear  to  the  people  of 
this  country.  It  had  been  said  that,  in  interpreting  the  grant 
by  which  chartered  rights  were  secured,  the  law  was  to  receive 
the  most  liberal  construction.  Mr.  G.  said  that  no  portion  of 
the  history  of  human  society  was  more  replete  with  interesting 
and  instructive  matter  than  the  origin,  progress,  and  general 
effect  of  chartered  institutions.  They  had  their  origin  in 
Europe,  when  the  feudal  system  had  rendered  the  people  abject 
slaves  to  the  crown,  the  nobility,  and  the  church.  They  were 
the  means  by  which  the  people  reacquired  some  portion  of  their 
natural  rights,  by  which  society  Avas  improved,  and  many  of  the 


488 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


abuses  of  governments  reformed.  The  friends  of  liberty  had 
therefore,  in  every  part  of  Europe,  endeavored  to  enlarge  the 
sphere  of  chartered  privileges.  Emigrants  from  Europe,  and 
especially  the  colonists  of  this  country,  who  were  generally  the 
ardent  lovers  of  freedom,  brought  with  them  the  most  sacred 
regard  for  those  privileges,  and,  in  most  of  the  colonies,  obtained 
some  security  for  their  enjoyment  by  grants  from  the  crown. 
The  revolution  effected  an  entire  change  in  the  whole  order  of 
things  in  this  country.  By  that  great  event  the  people  were 
restored  to  all  their  natural  rights.  The  government  which 
they  established  was  founded  upon  the  principle  that  all  its 
citizens  were  equally  free,  and  entitled  to  equal  privileges. 
Under  such  a government,  exclusive  privileges  ceased  to  be 
objects  of  popular  regard.  Grants  of  corporate  powers  be- 
came monopolies.  They  were  strict!  juris,  because  they  dero- 
gated from  common  right.  The  construction  of  such  grants, 
instead  of  being,  as  formerly,  exceedingly  liberal  in  favor  of 
natural  right,  and  against  the  absolute  powers  of  government, 
had  become  strict,  because  they  detracted  from  common  right  in 
a government  where  it  was  intended  that  the  same  advantages 
should  be  enjoyed  by  all.  Chartered  rights,  dei'ived  through 
banking  corporations,  so  far  therefore  from  being  considered  pe- 
culiarly sacred,  and  entitled  to  an  enlarged  construction,  ought 
to  be  strictly  limited  to  the  privileges  expressly  granted. 

Mr.  G.  said,  there  was  one  view  of  the  subject  rvliich  ap- 
peared to  him  to  extend  over  the  whole  ground,  and  to  be  de- 
cisive against  the  power  of  the  United  States  to  charter  a bank. 
Whence,  he  asked,  came  the  power  of  banking,  of  issuing  notes 
or  bills?  It  was  the  natural  right  of  every  citizen  unless  restricted 
by  law.  Extended  as  banking  by  corporations  was.  the  amount 
of  notes  and  bills  of  exchange  depending  for  payment  upon  indi- 
vidual capital  as  credit,  was  probably  greater,  in  this  country, 
than  the  amount  of  bank  notes.  The  power  to  pass  laws  for  the 
regulation  of  the  right  of  individuals  to  issue  notes  and  bills, 
belonged  exclusively  to  the  States.  What  individuals  had  the 
right  to  do,  artificial  beings  could  be  constituted  with  au- 
thority to  do.  Credit  was  an  important  means  of  acquiring 
wealth.  It  gave  more  employment  and  activity  to  industry  and 
intelligence,  than  any  other  agent  whatever,  except  capital  itself. 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


489 


Like  all  other  means  of  acquiring,  diffusing,  and  transferring 
wealth,  it  was  a subject  to  be  regulated  by  the  laws  of  the  State 
in  which  the  citizen  or  corporate  body  using  them  resided.  The 
power  to  create  banks  by  a State,  was  not  the  exercise  of  the 
power  of  emitting  bills  of  credit.  It  was  the  creation  of  an  arti- 
ficial being,  by  law  invested  with  authority  to  do  what  belonged  of 
right  to  individuals  to  do  ; but  which  the  State  supposed  could  he 
done  more  advantageously,  for  the  interest  of  the  community, 
by  corporate  bodies.  That  right  the  States  had  not  granted  to 
the  United  States.  The  United  States  could  not,  therefore,  as- 
sume it,  without  an  act  of  usurpation.  The  constitutional  prohi- 
bition against  the  States  issuing  bills  of  credit,  it  was  said,  had 
taken  from  the  States  the  authority  to  create  banks ; that  what 
they  could  not  do  themselves,  they  could  not  do  by  others.  The 
argument,  so  far  as  it  had  any  application,  was  true  ; but  could 
only  apply  to  such  banks  as  were  authorized  to  issue  bills  of 
credit  upon  the  faith  of  the  government,  and  depending  for  pay- 
ment upon  its  funds.  The  prohibitory  clause  alluded  to,  most 
assuredly  did  not  take  from  the  States  the  right  to  regulate  the 
employment  of  credit  or  capital  by  its  citizens,  or  to  create  cor- 
porate institutions,  with  the  authority  to  issue  notes  and  bills, 
founded  upon  the  capital  or  credit  of  those  institutions.  It  had 
been  also  said,  that,  if  the  States  had  the  power  of  creating 
banks,  it  was  impossible  for  the  United  States  to  regulate  the 
currency.  And  whence,  he  asked,  did  the  United  States  get  the 
right  of  regulating  the  currency  ? Certainly,  said  Mr.  G.,  the 
constitution  conferred  upon  it  no  such  authority.  Its  power  was 
the  regulation  of  the  coin. 

Mr.  G.  remarked  that  before  he  proceeded  to  discuss  the  last 
question  which  he  had  proposed  for  examination,  viz.,  the  inex- 
pediency of  rechartering  the  bank,  he  thought  it  proper  to  make 
a brief  reply  to  what  had  been  said  of  State  governments  and 
State  banks.  The  losses  from  broken  State  banks,  and  the  de- 
preciation of  State  bank  paper,  had  been  described  in  strong 
terms,  for  the  purpose  of  proving  the  folly  of  the  State  govern- 
ments to  be  so  great  as  to  render  them  inadequate  to  exercise  the 
power  of  chartering  and  governing  banking  institutions,  and  the 
unfitness  of  those  institutions  to  supply  a beneficial  currency. 

Mr.  G.  said,  that  in  the  legislation  of  newly  formed  commu- 


•190 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


nities,  like  most  of  our  States,  there  would  always  be  great  er- 
rors committed.  It  was  however  the  peculiar  genius  of  our 
State  governments  to  profit  by  experience.  They  were  founded 
upon  the  capacity  of  the  people  to  govern  themselves.  That 
capacity  was  often  most  strikingly  exhibited  in  the  recuperative 
energy  with  which  the  State  governments  recovered  from  great 
mistakes.  This  very  quality  of  our  free  representative  govern- 
ments was  never  more  clearly  exhibited  than  in  the  history  of 
banking.  In  the  new  States,  whilst  capital  was  scarce,  the  de- 
mand for  it  was  necessarily  very  active  and  urgent.  Many  banks 
had  under  such  circumstances  been  created  without  capital,  to 
supply  the  place  of  capital  by  bank  credit.  Such  banks  had,  of 
course,  failed  to  pay  when  specie  was  demanded.  What  was  the 
situation  of  those  States  where  the  evil  of  broken  banks  had 
been  most  felt  ? Look,  said  Mr.  G.,  at  the  rapidly  increasing 
wealth  and  rising  importance  of  Kentucky,  Ohio,  and  Tennessee. 
Mistakes  in  banking,  and  all  other  errors,  would  correct  them- 
selves without  difficulty  in  governments  which  were  practically 
the  agents  of  a free,  active,  and  intelligent  people.  Such  were  not, 
he  said,  the  operations  of  governments  whose  powers  were  not 
directly  responsible  to  the  people.  In  our  General  Government, 
he  said,  vast  and  complicated  evils  existed,  which  would  not  be 
tolerated  for  a moment  in  the  State  governments.  Abuses  of 
power  often  strengthened  the  power  to  abuse. 

Mr.  G.  then  proceeded  to  consider  the  inexpediency  of  re- 
chartering the  bank.  It  has  been  said,  that  whilst  the  currency 
furnished  by  the  United  States  Bank  was  the  best  in  the  world, 
better  than  gold  and  silver,  the  State  banks  were  wholly  unable 
to  redeem  their  notes  in  specie.  He  said,  that  the  statement 
was  partly  true,  but  that  the  inability  of  the  State  banks  to  re- 
deem their  notes  was  the  consequence  of  the  operations  of  the 
United  States  Bank.  The  receivability  of  the  United  States 
Bank  bills  in  the  payment  of  all  government  dues,  the  possession 
of  the  public  money,  and  the  establishment  of  its  branches  in 
every  part  of  the  United  States,  had  given  such  an  extended 
and  universal  credit  to  the  bills  of  the  United  States  Bank,  as 
to  drive  specie  from  circulation.  That  effect  was  increased  by 
the  use  which  the  United  States  Bank  had  made  of  the  notes  of 
the  State  banks.  He  knew  it  had  been  said  that  one  of  the 


FIBST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


4!>1 


great  benefits  of  the  United  States  Bank  had  been  to  control 
over-issues  by  the  State  banks,  so  as  to  make  their  bills  con- 
vertible into  specie.  The  reverse  was  true,  both  of  the  present 
and  first  bank.  The  disproportion  between  the  paper  of  the 
State  banks  in  circulation,  and  the  specie  in  their  vaults,  was 
never  so  great  as  at  present,  and  at  the  time  of  the  expiration 
of  the  charter  of  the  first  bank.  The  expiration  of  the  charter 
of  the  United  States  Bank  would  be  the  destruction  of  that  ex- 
tended credit  by  which  the  notes  of  the  State  banks  had  ceased 
to  be  convertible  into  specie,  especially  if  accompanied  by  judi- 
cious legislation  on  the  part  of  the  General  and  State  Govern- 
ments. The  want  of  confidence  in  the  banks  would  be  the  peo- 
ple’s security  against  their  over-issues. 

But  it  had  been  asked,  how  were  exchanges  to  be  regulated 
between  different  parts  of  the  country  ? He  replied,  as  they 
were  then  between  Hew  York  and  Liverpool.  The  productions 
which  each  section  furnished  the  other,  was  the  principal  medium 
through  which  commerce  would  be  carried  on.  The  payment  of 
balances  would  be  made,  he  said,  in  bills  of  commercial  houses 
of  established  credit,  in  bills  furnished  by  the  State  banks,  or  in 
gold  coin.  Mr.  G.  said,  that  it  was  exceedingly  important  for 
keeping  the  rate  of  exchange  uniform,  and  at  a fair  price,  that 
Congress  should  regulate  the  value  of  the  gold  coin,  by  increas- 
ing its  nominal  value,  so  as  to  retain  it  within  the  country,  and 
so  to  direct  the  collection  of  the.  public  revenue,  as  to  force  the 
State  banks  to  make  their  bills  convertible  into  coin  at  the  will 
of  the  holders. 

Mr.  G.  said,  that  the  opinions  which  he  had  then  expressed 
were  not  those  of  yesterday.  They  were  the  settled  convictions 
of  his  mind.  They  had  been  formed  with  his  first  examination 
into  the  structure  of  the  government,  and  his  mature  observation 
and  experience  had  but  added  confirmation  to  the  truth  of  his 
first  judgment.  He  avowed  his  entire  unconsciousness  of  the 
operation  of  the  slightest  influence  upon  him,  except  his  convic- 
tion that  the  public  good  forbade  the  restoration  of  the  deposits 
to  the  Bank  of  the  United  States.  He  had  never  owned  one 
dollar  of  bank  stock,  either  in  the  State  or  the  United  States 
Bank,  or  any  other  stock  whatever.  He  had  never  borrowed  a 
dollar  of  any  bank.  His  rule  was,  not  to  be  indebted  at  all. 


492 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


He  had  never  committed  an  act  of  speculation.  He  held  his 
personal  independence  of  higher  value  than  any  consideration 
connected  with  the  acquisition  of  property.  He  had  never  asked 
from  the  United  States  office  for  himself  nor  for  any  relation  of 
his.  He  would  never  receive  any  office  from  the  hands  of  any 
President.  He  discharged  but  the  obligation  he  owed  to  those 
he  represented,  when  he  urged  them  not  to  he  carried  off  from 
the  maintenance  of  the  rights  of  the  States  and  the  people,  by 
the  contests  for  power  among  the  ambitious  aspirants  for  the 
first  office  of  the  country. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

Whilst  I was  attending  tlie  session  of  Congress, 
1833-34,  a large  impostliume  rose  upon  my  breast-bone. 
For  many  years  before,  there  had  been  occasionally  schir- 
rous  tumors  at  the  same  place.  I had  some  apprehen- 
sion that  the  inflamed  part  would  become  cancerous. 

The  impostliume  was  very  large  and  deeply  in- 
flamed. I attended  the  House,  doubled  up  with  the  swell- 
ing and  pain,  until  I had  finally  to  take  to  bed.  When 
my  wife  decided  that  it  was  ready  for  the  lancet,  I sent 
for  a physician.  He  opened  it,  letting  out  only  blood, 
and  giving  me  great  pain.  After  the  physician  went 
away,  my  wife,  taking  up  the  lancet  which  he  had  used, 
discovered  a speck  of  pus  on  its  point.  She  insisted 
that  I should  send  for  him  again.  I told  her  that  the 
place  was  so  sore  that  I could  not  bear  the  touch  of 
any  one  about  it  but  herself,  and  urged  her  to  use  the 
lancet  if  she  thought  it  was  necessary.  She  accordingly 
applied  it  so  strongly  that  the  discharged  pus  flew  over 
her.  I had  been  without  sound  sleep  for  a week. 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


493 


After  thanking  and  kissing  her,  I took  a good  nap,  and 
rose  up  almost  well. 

For  forty-five  years  I suffered  very  muck  from  tooth- 
ache. Extraction  was  tried  several  times,  after  my 
last  set  of  teeth  were  formed,  but  without  success.  The 
tooth  always  broke,  producing  the  most  violent  pains 
in  my  head.  The  danger  from  the  usual  tooth-drawers 
was  so  great,  that  I would  no  longer  permit  their  appli- 
cation. When  a tooth  became  so  decayed  as  to  break, 
my  Avife  cut  out  the  pieces.  She  would  shake  each 
fragment,  and  cut  round  it  so  softly  with  her  little 
fingers,  that  what  would  have  been  insufferable  from 
the  hard  hands  of  a doctor,  scarcely  occasioned  any 
pain  when  done  by  her.  The  suffering  was  usually 
forgotten  in  the  pleasure  which  I felt  from  observing 
the  great  effort  she  made  to  avoid  hurting  me. 

Immediately  after  the  termination  of  the  session  of 
1834,  we  went  to  Philadelphia  to  consult  Dr.  Physic. 
My  health,  always  bad,  had  become  much  worse.  When 
I called  upon  the  doctor,  he  told  me  that  his  own 
health  was  so  infirm,  that  I must  put  myself  under 
the  care  of  his  son-in-law,  Dr.  Randolph.  When  I re- 
turned to  the  carriage  where  my  wife  was,  and  informed 
her  what  Dr.  Physic  said,  she  replied  that  she  must  see 
him  herself.  We  accordingly  went  to  his  house.  When 
he  came  into  the  room,  my  wife  was  in  tears.  She 
immediately  went  to  him,  told  him  that  she  had  no 
child ; that  her  husband  was  every  thing  to  her  ; that 
her  reliance  was  upon  him,  under  Providence,  for  his 
life  ; and  that  she  could  not  trust  him  in  the  hands  of 
any  body  else.  Dr.  Physic’s  marble  features  began  to 
relax  as  he  looked  at  her  earnest  face.  He  replied, 
Well,  madam,  if  your  husband  is  so  precious,  go  to  the 
mountains  for  the  present.  The  weather  is  too  hot  to 


4M  FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 

operate  upon  him  safely.  Return  when  the  weather 
becomes  cold,  and  I will  do  what  I can  for  you. 

Whilst  I was  in  Philadelphia,  I saw  some  of  the 
demonstrations  of  the  political  parties  of  the  city,  which 
were  very  novel  to  me,  who  had  been  but  little  accus- 
tomed to  the  action  of  the  people  in  great  masses.  It 
was  a time  of  unusual  excitement,  on  account  of  Gen. 
J ackson’s  removal  of  the  public  deposits  from  the  Bank 
of  the  United  States.  That  strong  measure  was  resisted 
by  all  the  means  which  the  moneyed  men  of  the  country 
could  make  bear  against  the  President.  Wealth  and 
numbers  were  striving  for  the  ascendency.  The  4th  of 
July  passed  during  my  stay.  The  greatest  preparations 
had  been  made  for  the  celebration  of  the  day.  Each 
party  invited  to  its  own  feast  its  own  distinguished 
members  (the  members  of  Congress,  among  others). 
Col.  Benton  had  been  long  the  most  thoroughgoing 
opponent  of  the  bank.  The  democratic  committees 
and  leading  men,  with  the  whole  tagrag  and  bobtail  of 
Philadelphia,  met  him  upon  his  landing  from  the  boat, 
on  the  morning  of  the  4tli,  and  escorted  him  to  his 
lodgings,  with  the  most  uproarious  demonstrations  of 
political  devotion.  I declined  attending  the  demo- 
cratic dinner,  to  which  I had  been  invited,  but  accepted 
an  invitation  from  the  committee  of  arrangements  to 
accompany  them  to  the  place  of  public  speaking.  An 
elevated  stand  was  occupied  by  Gilpin,  the  orator  of 
the  day,  the  committee  of  arrangements,  and  the  in- 
vited members  of  Congress.  Each  one,  except  myself, 
was  carried  to  the  front  of  the  stand,  introduced  to  the 
mob,  and  saluted  with  thundering  halloos.  I declined 
being  made  a show  of.  The  stand  was  just  within  one 
of  the  most  beautiful  public  gardens  of  the  city.  The 
audience  occupied  the  open  space  outside.  The  dinner 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


495 


table  was  inside.  As  soon  as  Gilpin  concluded  his 
speech,  I descended  from  the  stand,  and  attempted  to 
get  out  of  tlie  garden.  The  press  of  the  crowd  to  get  at 
dinner  inside  was  too  great.  I amused  myself  for  a while 
walking  around  the  garden,  and  examining  its  beautiful 
plants  and  flowers.  A fight  took  place  outside.  The 
press  took  that  direction.  I went  along  with  it  until  I 
found  an  opportunity  of  escaping  to  my  lodgings.  The 
aristocratic  dinner  was  to  be  in  a theatre  close  by. 
My  wife  and  several  other  ladies  went  into  the  room 
to  look  at  the  arrangements  of  the  table,  which,  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  quality  of  those  who  were  to  partake 
of  the  dinner,  was  not  to  be  occupied  until  a late  hour. 
When  we  left  the  room,  I was  required  to  pay  the 
price  of  the  feast  for  each  of  the  ladies  and  myself.  Mr. 
Biddle,  the  president  of  the  bank,  came  into  the  public 
room  of  the  house  where  I was.  ITe  filled,  at  the  time, 
a station  so  elevated  in  his  own  opinion,  and  those  of 
his  party,  that  he  declined  being  introduced  to  any 
anti-bank  member  of  Congress. 

W e went  to  the  valley  of  Virginia,  and  remained 
with  our  friends  until  the  time  arrived  for  attending 
Congress. 

O 

During  the  short  intermission  from  labor,  during 
the  Christmas  holidays,  my  wife  and  myself  went  to 
Philadelphia.  Dr.  Physic  had  forgotten  me.  But  when 
I mentioned  his  promise  to  my  wife,  Ah,  said  he,  I 
recollect  the  lady  whose  husband  was  so  precious  to 
her.  He  said  that  he  had  not  waited  on  a patient  at 
night  for  years,  but  that  he  would  come  to  her  husband, 
at  her  request,  whenever  she  thought  it  necessary. 

After  a minute  and  thorough  examination  of  my 
diseased  body,  he  declared  that  evils  numerous  as  those 
in  Pandora’s  box  had  been  fastened  upon  me.  I sup- 


496 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


posed  tliat  the  matter  -which  required  the  most  immedi- 
ate attention  was  a carbuncle  upon  my  breast.  He 
said  that  the  operation  for  its  cure  would  be  very  pain- 
ful and  doubtful  of  success,  and  advised  that  it  should 
be  let  alone,  predicting  that  it  would  pass  away.  He 
was  right.  The  carbuncle  is  gone.  He  destroyed 
several  internal  tumors,  by  strangulation.  I was  put 
to  bed,  and  fed  on  a spoonful  of  dry  rice,  and  a cup  of 
hot  water  tea,  without  cream,  three  times  a day,  for 
near  three  weeks.  During  that  time  my  wife  was  my 
only  nurse,  never  leaving  me  day  nor  night. 

Whilst  we  were  in  Philadelphia,  I made  the  ac- 
quaintance of  a kinswoman,  whose  kindness  I can  never 
forget.  She  was  the  daughter  of  Gen.  Cadwalader 
Irvine,  and  widow  of  Dr.  Charles  Lewis  of  the  Sweet 
Springs,  Virginia,  a first  cousin  of  my  mother’s.  Whilst 
I was  under  the  hands  of  Dr.  Physic,  and  confined  to 
my  room,  she  called  every  day  at  the  house  where  we 
were,  to  see  my  wife,  inquire  how  I was,  and  offer  her 
services  for  our  assistance  and  comfort. 

Eliza  Grantland,  the  daughter  of  Mr.  Fleming 
Grantland  of  Georgia,  a great  favorite,  \fas  at  school 
in  Philadelphia  at  the  time.  We  recommended  her  to 
Mrs.  Lewis.  During  all  the  time  she  was  in  Phila- 
delphia, Mrs.  Lewis  took  her  to  Gen.  Irvine’s,  with 
whom  she  lived  every  Saturday  and  Sunday,  and 
treated  her  in  every  way  as  her  own  near  kinswoman. 

I heard  from  Mrs.  Lewis,  whilst  in  Philadelphia, 
that  her  youngest  son,  a lad,  had  been  so  excited  by 
the  desire  to  see  Gen.  Jackson,  as  he  passed  through 
Pennsylvania,  the  year  before,  that  he  ran  away  from 
his  school,  and  joined  the  President’s  escort.  The 
extreme  admiration  of  the  youth  for  the  military  chief- 
tain, indicated  so  decidedly  the  pursuit  in  which  he 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


497 


would  probably  excel,  that  I advised  Mrs.  Lewis  to 
get  him  into  the  navy  if  possible,  as  the  service  best 
suited  for  calling  into  useful  action  his  love  for  distinc- 
tion. 

When  I returned  to  Washington  City,  I wrote  to 
Gen.  Jackson,  asking  from  him  a midshipman’s  warrant 
for  young  Lewis,  in  which  I mentioned  the  military 
services  which  had  been  rendered  the  country  by  his 
ancestors,  particularly  in  defending  the  State  of  Virginia 
against  the  Indians  and  the  British,  alluded  to  his  like 
services  to  the  United  States,  and  referred  to  the  great 
regard  which  I understood  he  had  for  John  Lewis,  the 
uncle  of  young  Lewis.  I applied  to  John  Bobertson 
(now  Judge  Bobertson),  then  a member  of  Congress 
from  Virginia,  whose  wife  was  the  niece  of  Dr.  Charles 
Lewis,  to  aid  me  in  my  efforts.  When  he  read  what 
I had  written  to  Gen.  Jackson,  he  swore  that  he  would 
sign  no  paper  which  flattered  the  old  rascal  as  my 
letter  did. 

I went  to  the  office  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy, 
and  applied  to  Mr.  Dickerson,  then  Secretary,  to  favor 
my  application  to  the  President.  He  answered  that 
he  would  do  what  he  could  with  the  greatest  pleasure ; 
that  he  knew  Mrs.  Lewis  and  her  family  very  well  ; 
but  that  General  Jackson  had  spoken  for  the  first  mid- 
shipmen’s warrants  for  two  of  his,  or  his  wife’s  kin,  and 
therefore  doubted  any  immediate  success. 

When  Dr.  Physic  came  to  see  me,  to  determine 
whether  I was  sufficiently  cured  to  travel,  we  conversed 
very  freely  upon  the  political  state  of  the  country,  and 
particularly  about  the  probability  of  a war  with 
France,  which  General  Jackson’s  strong  temper  and 
energetic  measures  were  rendering  probable  just  then. 
My  opinions  happened  to  coincide  so  entirely  with  his, 
32 


498 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


that,  upon  ending  the  conversation,  he  said,  “ Sir,  you 
can  go  to  Washington  City;  you  cannot  be  spared 
from  your  post  there.”  The  next  morning  I went  in  a 
carriage  through  a snow-storm  to  the  river.  The  Dela- 
ware had  been  frozen  up  : a thaw  had  followed.  The 
river  was  covered  with  broken  ice.  The  wind  blew 
violently,  so  that  the  water  was  rough,  and  the  boat 
very  unsteady.  From  Newcastle  to  Frenchtown  the 
track  of  the  railroad  was  covered  with  snow.  The  cars 
got  along  very  badly.  When  we  arrived  at  French- 
town, the  boat  from  Baltimore  had  not  come.  There 
were  no  accommodations  at  the  depot.  We  had  to 
seek  shelter  at  a farm-house,  about  a quarter  of  a mile 
off.  Some  one  was  kind  enough  to  procure  a cart  for 
the  transportation  of  my  infirm  body.  The  Russian 
minister  and  his  secretary,  Kromer,  were  of  the  party. 
Ivromer  was  a particular  acquaintance  of  ours.  He  set 
off  full  speed  for  the  house,  and  succeeded  in  procuring 
a room  and  a bed  for  me — great  luxuries  in  a house 
which  had  to  hold  seventy  travellers.  I do  not  know 
how  many  beds  were  found  for  others.  The  whole 
party  had  eleven  knives  and  forks  and  three  spoons  to 
eat  with.  I could  not  very  well  describe  the  incon- 
veniences and  suffering  from  such  accommodations  to 
me,  who  had  been  confined  to  bed  in  a close  room  for 
three  weeks,  with  food  scarcely  sufficient  to  sustain  a 
mouse,  and  was  then  not  well.  The  next  day,  when 
the  smoke  of  the  steamboat  was  seen  rising  in  the 
atmosphere  over  the  waters  of  the  Chesapeake  Bay, 
we  had  a most  joyous  shout  from  all  the  company  at 
the  farm-house.  We  passed  the  night  in  Baltimore. 
The  earth  was  covered  with  snow  next  morning.  It 
was  determined  that  I should  go  to  Washington  City 
at  once,  in  a stage  with  slides,  as  easier  than  the  road 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


499 


would  be  after  the  snow  melted.  We  had  not  pro- 
ceeded more  than  a third  of  the  way,  before  the  snow 
began  to  disappear  in  places,  so  that  the  slides  occa- 
sionally dragged  on  the  ground  and  stones.  Before 
we  got  to  Washington  City,  the  slided  stage  broke 
down.  Two  gentlemen  gave  us  their  places  in  a stage, 
whilst  they  followed  on  in  an  open  wagon.  I arrived 
in  Washington  City  with  many  additional  reasous  for 
thinking  well  of  the  world.  I suffered  very  little  from 
the  cold  to  which  I had  been  exposed  ; the  slight 
feverish  action  which  still  remained  after  the  operation 
which  had  been  performed  upon  me,  most  probably 
saving  me  from  what  might  otherwise  have  been  very 
injurious. 

General  Jackson  went  into  office  by  the  force  of  his 
own  individual  popularity,  and  independent  of  party 
divisions.  The  supporters  of  his  administration  were 
therefore  Jackson  men,  and  not  democratic  nor  federal 
republicans.  The  opinions  of  sensible  and  honest  men 
about  forms  of  government,  and  matters  of  public 
policy,  are  necessarily  different.  Great  latitude  of 
action  is  therefore  permitted  to  their  members,  by 
parties  formed  upon  principle.  Not  so  with  men 
united  for  the  advancement  and  support  of  individuals 
and  their  followers.  Such  adherents  must  toe  the 
track,  or  be  driven  off  it. 

As  the  discordant  materials  which  had  been  united 
for  the  time  to  bring  General  Jackson  into  office,  began 
to  manifest  their  true  character,  by  their  pursuing  the 
course  of  public  conduct  which  seemed  to  them  right, 
efforts  were  tnade  by  the  party  leaders  to  tighten  the 
cords  of  party  discipline. 

In  the  session  of  1833-4,  the  Jackson  party  deter- 
mined to  change  the  officers  of  the  House,  as  not  beiug 


500 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


sufficiently  supple  instruments  for  their  purposes. 
They  were  excellent  agents  for  doing  the  public,  busi- 
ness. The  leaders,  apprehending  that  some  of  the 
members  who  had  supported  General  Jackson  would 
not  be  willing  to  turn  out  public  officers  who  did  their 
duty,  determined  to  force  them,  by  subjecting  them  to 
the  proscription  of  the  party  at  home  by  making  them 
votes  public.  A resolution  was  introduced,  proposing 
to  change  the  mode  of  voting  by  the  House  for  its 
officers,  from  ballot,  to  viva  voce.  I was  among  the 
number  on  whom  this  measure  was  intended  to  operate. 
1 was  feeble  from  disease,  and  very  easily  excited.  I 
addressed  the  House  in  opposition  to  the  passage  of 
the  resolution.  I repelled,  in  very  indignant  terms, 
the  imputation  that  I was  to  be  thus  controlled,  and 
poured  forth  the  expression  of  my  feelings  in  a manner 
which  produced  a very  sensible  impression  upon  the 
House.  When  I concluded,  and  retired  to  a recess 
back  of  the  Speaker’s  chair,  very  much  exhausted,  I 
was  surrounded  by  a crowd  of  members,  expressing 
their  strong  sympathy  with  me  and  for  me.  When  I 
went  home,  my  wife  had  retired  to  her  room,  to  avoid 
meeting  me  in  the  presence  of  others.  She  gave  me  a 
salutation,  worth  more  than  all  the  shaking  of  hands 
and  plaudits  which  I had  received  from  the  listeners 
and  lookers-on. 

I could  not  have  written  out  for  publication  what  I 
said  if  I had  desired  to  do  so.  The  debate  was  unex- 
pected. I had  made  no  preparation  for  speaking.  I 
was  too  unwell  even  to  correct  the  very  imperfect 
report  made  for  the  newspapers  by  the  reporters.  The 
resolution  was  introduced  by  a member  from  Illinois, 
whom  I knew  to  be  utterly  worthless  for  investigating 
any  subject. 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


501 


On  tlie  3d  of  March,  the  last  night  of  the  session, 
when  twelve  o’clock  arrived,  I rose  in  the  House, 
amidst  the  struggle  for  the  floor  by  speakers,  and  the 
turmoil  and  confusion  which  attends  the  press  of  busi- 
ness during  the  last  moments,  when  hope  still  con- 
tinued the  desire  to  do  what  each  member  wished  very 
much  to  have  done,  and,  addressing  the  Speaker,  I took 
from  its  fob  an  old  gold  watch,  which  had  descended 
to  me  from  my  great-grandfather,  and,  holding  up  its 
broad  face  and  large  figures,  announced  that  the  time 
had  arrived  when  my  right  of  representing  the  people 
of  Georgia  terminated,  bowed,  and  left  the  hall.  Soon 
after,  Mr.  Adams  made  my  disappearance  the  occasion 
of  speaking  of  me  in  the  most  flattering  terms.  My 
colleague  and  friend,  Colonel  Tom  Foster,  who  was 
present,  said  that  the  old  watch,  not  satisfied  with 
living  for  ever  itself,  had  used  its  time  to  confer  im- 
mortality upon  its  owner. 


CHAPTER  XI Y. 

Esr  1836,  I left  home  for  Alabama.  During  my  ab- 
sence, I was  nominated  by  the  State-rights  party  a 
candidate  for  elector  of  President  and  Vice-President. 
I accepted  the  nomination.  In  my  letter  of  acceptance 
I said : — 

I am  decidedly  in  favor  of  the  election  of  Judge  White, 
because  I believe  him  to  be  an  honest,  sensible,  practical  man, 
who  has  never  sought  office  by  vile  means — whose  firmness  and 
patriotism  will  secure  to  the  people,  if  he  shall  be  elected,  an 
impartial  and  faithful  administration  of  the  Government.  I am 


502 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


in  favor  of  the  election  of  Judge  White,  from  the  hope  that 
the  great  body  of  the  intelligent-  and  upright  citizens  of  all 
classes  and  all  parties  may  be  induced  to  unite  in  his  support, 
upon  such  principles  as  will  avert  the  evils  which  at  present 
endanger  our  political  system. 

The  continued  prosperity  of  the  country  for  the  last  twenty 
years,  and  the  extinguishment  of  party  divisions,  which,  when 
existing,  kept  public  attention  alive  to  the  public  interest,  have 
gradually  withdrawn  the  people  from  politics  to  private  pursuits, 
so  that  the  honors  and  rewards  of  office  have  become  greatly 
more  accessible  than  formerly  to  those  who  seek  them  for 
selfish  rather  than  noble  and  patriotic  purposes.  From  this 
state  of  things  is  forming  a party,  who,  without  holding  any 
political  principles  in  common,  or  agreeing  upon  any  of  the 
great  cpiestions  of  policy  which  divide  public  opinion,  is  united 
only  in  the  attempt  to  appropriate  to  itself  the  exclusive  posses- 
sion of  all  the  offices  of  Government. 

Between  Mr.  Van  Buren  and  Judge  White,  the  contest 
ought  to  be  considered  a struggle  between  the  patronage  of  the 
Government  and  the  independent  action  of  the  people — the  love 
of  office  and  the  love  of  country. 

The  opinions  expressed  in  this  letter  show  distinctly 
enough  why  I was  opposed  to  Mr.  Van  Buren.  The 
political  course  which  I then  took  caused  me  after- 
wards some  embarrassment.  In  opposing  Mr.  Van 
Buren  and  the  agents  through  whom  he  worked,  I was 
led  into  connection  with  those  whose  political  prin- 
ciples were  very  different  from  my  own.  Mr.  Van 
Buren’s  conduct  justified  my  opposition  to  him.  But 
the  evidence  upon  which  I acted  could  only  have  its 
proper  weight  with  those  who  were  familiar  with  the 
facts,  from  their  public  service.  Although  every  citi- 
zen of  Georgia  probably  concurs  with  me  now  in  the 
justness  of  the  judgment  which  I then  passed  upon  Mr. 
Van  Buren  and  his  special  friends,  they  thought  very 
differently  then. 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


503 


The  party  which  has  since  become  the  democratic, 
were  then  the  advocates  of  the  most  questionable  mea- 
sures of  Gen.  Jackson’s  administration ; whilst  the 
nullifers,  who  are  now  advocating  the  most  doubtful 
powers,  were  formerly  the  supporters  of  popular  rights 
and  the  sovereignty  of  the  States.  These  changes  have 
proceeded  from  the  direction  given  to  parties  by  the 
leading  men  whose  elevation  to  power  they  advocated, 
who  were  themselves  governed  by  their  ambitious 
looking  ahead  rather  than  by  the  principles  which  they 
professed. 

On  our  way  to  Alabama  we  stopped  at  Columbus, 
and  passed  a day  or  two  visiting  our  acquaintances, 
and  examining  the  location  of  the  town  destined  to  be 
one  of  the  largest  inland  cities  of  the  South.  We 
went  from  Columbus  to  Montgomery,  through  the 
Creek  Indians,  then  in  the  greatest  excitement  on 
account  of  the  near  approach  of  the  time  for  their  re- 
moval from  the  country  which  they  occupied,  to  the 
territory  provided  for  them  beyond  the  Mississippi,  and 
by  the  great  frauds  practised  by  the  whites,  in  purchas- 
ing the  reservations  secured  to  them  by  the  terms  of 
the  treaty  between  the  Government  and  the  tribe. 
They  were  ready  for  murder,  and  preparing  for  war. 
Without  being  fully  aware  of  their  irritated  state,  we 
entered  their  country.  We  found  them  drinking  and 
carousing  at  every  station  on  the  road.  A few  miles 
beyond  the  village  of  Tuskega  we  passed,  late  in  the 
evening,  three  Indian  men  standing  by  the  side  of  the 
road  in  a deep  hollow,  and  near  a swamp,  with  rifles 
in  their  hands.  I saw  from  their  looks  that  the  devil 
was  in  them.  I requested  my  wife  not  to  look  back, 
or  show  any  concern.  I kept  a bold  face  upon  them 
myself,  directing  my  driver  to  go  along  unconcernedly 


504  FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 

until  out  of  sight,  and  then  to  drive  as  fast  as  possible. 
That  night,  a family  of  white  people  living  close  by, 
were  murdered  by  the  Indians.  The  next  day  we  got 
to  Montgomery.  The  day  after,  eighteen  travellers 
left  there  for  Columbus.  In  passing  through  the  Creek 
country,  they  were  fired  upon  by  the  Indians.  They 
cut  the  horses  from  the  stages,  and  fled  on  their  bare 
backs.  The  Indians  burnt  the  stages  and  what  of  the 
baggage  they  did  not  want.  The  travellers  fled  into 
the  woods,  and  wandered  about,  and  on  towards 
Georgia,  where  they  all  finally  arrived  in  a state  of 
starvation,  and  nearly  dead  from  the  continual  appre- 
hension of  death. 

After  remaining  in  Montgomery  for  a few  weeks, 
my  wife’s  health,  then  very  bad,  became  so  injuriously 
affected  by  the  water,  that  it  was  necessary  that  we 
should  get  away. 

Whilst  we  were  in  Montgomery,  the  murders  and 
robberies  committed  by  the  Indians  induced  the  Gov- 
ernment to  order  out  large  bodies  of  militia  from 
Alabama  and  Georgia,  to  protect  the  inhabitants  ex- 
posed to  their  attacks.  All  travelling  through  the 
Creek  country  from  Montgomery  to  Columbus  was 
stopped.  We  set  off  for  home;  crossed  from  Mont- 
gomery to  the  southern  side  of  the  Alabama  River,  and 
proceeded  up  it.  We  met  the  Alabama  army  the 
morning  after.  The  people  along  the  road  were  in  the 
greatest  alarm,  and  flying  from  their  houses  to  escape 
the  apprehended  danger  from  the  Indians.  On  the 
second  day  we  stopped,  at  twelve  o’clock,  at  a house 
where  the  road  enters  a gorge  between  two  ranges  of 
high  hills  or  low  pine  mountains.  The  road  was  almost 
impassable,  and  the  country  very  sparsely  inhabited. 
The  people  of  the  house  were  four  men.  One  red- 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


505 


headed,  thick  set,  bare-footed  rascal,  had  the  scar  of  a 
large  cut  entirely  across  his  face,  as  if  his  head  had 
been  laid  open  by  a sword.  The  house  was  two  pens, 
united  by  an  open  passage.  My  wife  laid  down  to  rest 
in  one  of  the  rooms,  where  she  heard  all  that  was  said 
by  these  four  scamps,  then  talking  in  the  passage  of 
how  they  had  killed  people,  and  how  they  intended  to 
kill  more.  The  troops  had  passed  there  the  day  before, 
and  in  various  ways  roused  all  their  ferocity.  The 
next  day  we  crossed  the  waters  of  the  Alabama  River, 
then  called  the  Coosa.  We  found  many  persons  on 
the  bank  of  the  river,  looking  over  into  the  Indian 
country,  as  if  to  see  what  mischief  was  doing.  Indian 
cabins  were  in  view.  No  one  was  to  be  seen.  Those 
wrho  were  on  the  bank  looking  over,  imagined  that  the 
Indians  of  the  town  might  be  in  concealment,  ready  to 
pounce  upon  any  one  who  should  venture  to  cross  over. 
We  had  in  our  company  a lawyer,  who  was  going  to 
Talladega  Court,  and  who  acknowledged  that  he  would 
not  have  ventured  to  pass  through  the  Indian  country, 
but  that  he  wras  ashamed  to  avoid  what  a lady  ventur- 
ed to  do.  We  found  the  Indian  cabins  on  the  Talladega 
side  of  the  river  deserted.  At  the  house  where  we 
stopped  to  feed  our  horses  and  get  dinner,  the  dwellers 
had  fled,  leaving  the  overseer  and  the  negroes  to  take 
care  of  their  property.  We  arrived  in  the  evening  at 
Talladega  County  town.  In  the  morning  I met  on  the 
road,  a few  miles  from  the  court-house,  my  old  friend, 
Alexander  Bowie.  It  is  one  of  the  most  delightful 
pleasures  of  life,  to  look  upon  the  countenance,  shake 
hands  with,  and  hear  the  voice  of  a friend  whom  we 
have  loved  from  youth  to  old  age,  have  not  seen  but 
for  a few  moments  at  long  intervals,  and  just  time 
enough  to  keep  his  identity  fresh  in  memory. 


506 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


Alexander  Bowie  and  myself  were  of  the  same  age, 
had  commenced  our  classical  education  with  the  same 
teacher,  had  continued  together  gathering  knowledge 
for  several  years,  eating  at  the  same  table,  often  oc- 
cupying the  same  bed,  and  sympathizing  with  each 
other  in  our  compositions,  speaking,  and  all  the  other 
employments  of  school. 

Soon  after  I went  to  Milleclgeville  as  Governor,  we 
were  visited  by  Miss  Sarah  Ann  Wiley,  a young  lady 
of  the  neighborhood.  I observed  her  eyes  fixed  upon 
me  with  great  intentness.  She  at  last  asked  me  some- 
thing about  her  uncle  Bowie.  I had  never  seen  her 
before,  and  could  not  therefore  take  her  in  my  arms, 
hug  and  kiss  her,  as  I wanted  to  do,  but  we  talked  and 
talked  of  that  uncle  Bowie.  She  told  me  how  he  had 
directed  her  education,  what  very  pleasant  visits  she 
had  made  him,  and  how  often  she  had  heard  him  talk 
of  the  friend  of  his  youth.  When  Sarah  Ann  was 
courted,  her  uncle  Bowie  was  not  near  by  to  consult ; 
so  she  advised  with  me.  Her  husband,  Richard  Hays, 
was  ready  during  his  life,  to  do  me  any  favor.  Mrs. 
Wiley,  the  sister  of  Mrs.  Bowie,  her  daughter  Mrs. 
Baxter,  her  son-in-law  Mr.  Baxter,  and  Mr.  Leroy 
Wiley,  who  have  been  long  my  excellent  friends,  were 
drawn  to  me  at  first  by  their  knowledge  of  the  attach- 
ment between  Alexander  Bowie  and  myself.  Mrs. 
Baxter’s  two  charming  daughters,  Mary  and  Sally, 
have  been  since  they  were  little  children,  like  my  own 
children.  They  are  now  married.  When  their  hus- 
bands look  at  me,  and  talk  to  me,  I can  observe  the 
effect  of  the  repeated  expressions  of  regard  for  me 
which  they  have  heard  from  their  wives.  Mrs.  Baxter’s 
cleverest  son  is  named  after  me,  and  all  the  children 
akin  to  Alexander  Bowie,  call  me  by  some  title  of 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


507 


affection.  Alexander  Bowie  and  I did  not  talk  over 
all  these  matters  whilst  we  were  standing  in  the  road, 
shaking  hands  and  looking  at  each  other.  He  had  to 
go  to  Talladego,  where  court  was  to  he  in  session,  and 
he  had  cases  to  attend  to  professionally.  He  urged 
me  to  go  to  his  house,  which  was  not  very  far  from  the 
road  which  we  had  to  travel.  But  my  wife  was  not 
well  enough  to  enjoy  delay. 

We  went  on  our  way  through  a wilderness  country, 
occasionally  passing  by  plantations  where  the  great 
fertility  of  the  land  had  attracted  some  hasty  improve- 
ments. As  the  evening  began  to  close,  we  ‘became 
anxious  about  our  resting-place  for  the  night.  We  saw 
but  few  Indians  ; but  we  knew  that  they  were  scattered 
over  the  country,  in  a highly  irritated  state.  Travel- 
ling with  my  wife,  without  a guard,  through  a wilder- 
ness occupied  by  Indians  anxious  to  revenge  what  they 
felt  to  be  injuries,  upon  any  one  who  might  be  thrown 
in  their  way,  was  no  pleasurable  pastime. 

After  going  for  some  distance  between  pine  hills, 
without  inhabitants,  we  found  ourselves  approaching 
two  young  ladies,  dressed  in  white,  walking  along  the 
same  road  in  the  course  which  we  were  going.  It  was 
a strange  sight  for  such  a place.  We  were  soon  at  the 
house  where  we  intended  stopping  for  the  night.  Our 
landlady  was  the  daughter  of  old  Mat  Clay,  long  a 
member  of  Congress  from  Virginia.  Her  husband  was 
an  industrious  wealthy  man  by  the  name  of  McGehee. 
I had  been  familiarly  acquainted  with  his  family  from 
infancy.  The  young  ladies  were  very  pretty  and  agree- 
able. I found  a young  man  visiting  the  family  and  court- 
ing one  of  them.  I knew  him  to  be  a base  fellow,  who 
was  married  to  a woman  from  whom  he  was  separated 
without  a divorce.  He  pretended  not  to  know  me, 


508 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


and  evidently  hoped  that  I would  not  recognize  him. 
I discovered  his  rascality,  and  felt  it  to  be  clue  to  the 
young  ladies  to  let  them  know  who  he  was. 

We  left  Mr.  McGehee’s  in  the  morning,  and  stopped 
to  get  dinner  at  the  house  of  a son-in-law  of  old  Jim 
Blair  of  Franklin,  Georgia.  The  old  fellow  was  there. 
When  we  were  about  leaving,  he  insisted  that  we 
should  go  direct  to  Georgia  by  the  McIntosh  trail, 
through  the  Creeks,  instead  of  the  road  by  Benton 
court-house  through  the  Cherokees.  The  road  forked 
about  half  a mile  from  the  house.  When  we  got 
to  the  plain,  my  wife  declared,  that  if  we  went  the 
road  advised  by  Blair,  she  should  imagine  that  she  saw 
him  behind  every  tree  with  his  gun  directed  at  me. 

The  mail  rider  had  been  murdered  on  the  road  he 
advised  us  to  go  a short  time  before,  with  the  expecta- 
tion by  the  perpetrators  that  the  deed  would  be  charg- 
ed upon  the  Indians.  Blair  had  spent  his  life  on  the 
frontiers,  had  traded  much  with  the  Cherokee  Indians, 
and  was  very  unscrupulous.  When  I was  first  a mem- 
ber of  the  Legislature,  McKenney  and  Shoultz,  exten- 
sive private  bankers,  endeavored  to  strengthen  the 
credit  of  their  issue  by  obtaining  a charter  for  their 
bank.  They  gave  notice  of  their  scheme,  and  a portion 
of  stock  to  several  leading  members  of  the  Legislature, 
to  Blair  among  others.  He  went  to  Milleclgeville,  op- 
posed to  the  proposed  bank.  He  became  a clamorous 
advocate  for  it.  I charged  him  before  the  House  with 
corruption,  and  dared  him  to  have  an  inquiry  into 
his  conduct.  He  answered  my  remarks  by  saying,  that 
he  did  not  fight  with  pistols,  but  that  he  would  wait 
for  time  and  opportunity  to  take  his  revenge. 

These  circumstances  were  known  to  my  wife.  She 
would  not  therefore  trust  to  him  for  directions  about 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


509 


the  road.  We  did  him  and  ourselves  great  injustice 
by  our  suspicions,  for  which  we  suffered  much,  by  tak- 
ing the  wrong  road,  turning  over  our  carriage,  being 
delayed,  and  undergoing  other  losses  and  crosses. 

When  we  arrived  at  Benton  court-house,  we  found  the 
people  collecting  there,  and  talking  of  fortifying  them- 
selves against  the  Cherokees,  who  it  was  said  were  as- 
sembling to  commence  hostilities.  I had  to  determine 
whether  I would  venture  among  the  enraged  Chero- 
kees, or  cross  over  to  Carrol  County,  through  the 
Creeks.  I took  the  latter  course.  We  left  Benton 
court-house  to  go  so  far  on  the  road  that  evening,  that 
we  might  perform  the  journey  to  the  Georgia  frontier 
the  next  day.  We  soon  ascended  a very  steep  mountain. 
In  passing  along  the  side  of  the  ridge,  the  carriage  was 
overturned.  After  struggling  for  a long  time  to  right 
it,  and  having  nearly  given  it  up  as  a bad  job,  two  men 
came  by,  who  had  followed  the  carriage  track  from 
curiosity,  to  know  what  people  could  be  after,  who 
were  going  among  the  Indians  when  every  one  else 
was  running  away  from  them.  They  kindly  afforded  us 
the  necessary  assistance  to  put  the  carriage  on  its 
wheels.  We  arrived  a little  before  night  at  the  house 
of  a man  who  had  sixteen  children,  and  who  seemed  to 
have  so  much  to  do,  that  he  had  heard  but  little  of  the 
preparations  for  war.  He,  his  wife,  and  house  full  of 
children,  lived  in  a cabin  of  one  room,  and  that  with- 
out a loft.  There  were  three  beds  in  the  room.  We 
occupied  the  middle  one,  between  the  old  people’s  and 
the  three  eldest  girls.  The  younger  children  laid  on 
the  floor,  between  the  beds  and  the  fireplace.  It  was 
a sight  to  see  their  heads  in  the  morning  raised  up  and 
looking  at  me  as  I got  up.  We  had  insisted  on  sleep- 
ing in  the  wagon  under  a shelter,  but  the  very  pro- 


510 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


position  hurt  our  hostess  so  much,  that  we  could  not 
urge  it.*  In  the  morning  I rose  early,  ancl  went  to  a 
most  beautiful  spring  of  water  at  the  foot  of  the  hill, 
to  wash  my  face  and  hands.  Not  having  a towel  to 
carry  with  me,  I used  my  handkerchief  for  wiping ; I 
carried  our  travelling  pitcher  filled  with  water  to  the 
house ; and  asked  for  a towel,  so  that  I might  have  it 
ready  for  my  wife  when  she  got  from  bed.  Our  host- 
ess was  greatly  bothered.  She  had  no  towel.  She 
went  to  a heap  of  clothes  on  a plank  in  a corner  of  the 
room,  which  reached  to  the  joist,  took  from  it  a shirt 
of  one  of  the  boys,  tore  off  the  tail,  and  gave  it  to  me 
for  my  wife  to  wipe  her  face  and  hands  on.  She  was 
sleeping  whilst  this  preparation  was  making  for  her 
comfort.  When  she  got  up,  she  washed  and  wiped  on 
the  rag,  without  suspecting  its  previous  use.  It  was  the 
best  the  kind  old  woman  could  do.  It  was  indeed  very 
kind  of  her  thus  to  demolish  a boy’s  shirt,  for  a lady’s 
momentary  convenience.  After  breakfast  we  set  off 
for  Carrol  County  in  Georgia.  We  passed  two  cabins. 
At  one  of  them  we  stopped,  and  had  our  horses  fed. 
The  man  told  us  that  the  night  before  his  wife  heard 
the  colt  kick  in  the  stable,  and  imagining  the  noise  to 
be  Indians  getting  into  the  house,  ran  out  at  the  door 
opposite,  and  remained  in  the  woods  all  night.  Travel- 
ling on,  we  met  a youth  in  a carryall,  looking  very 
earnest,  and  driving  as  fast  as  he  well  could.  Fortu- 
nately we  said  nothing  to  him.  He  was  going  after 
the  people  with  whom  we  had  stopped,  to  remove  them 
into  the  settlement.  A report  had  reached  the  fron- 
tiers that  the  Indians  would  attack  the  whites  that 
night.  How  we  should  have  been  able  to  travel  fifteen 
miles  under  the  constant  apprehension  of  massacre,  it  is 
difficult  to  imagine.  When  we  left  Montgomery,  one  of 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


511 


my  nephews  supplied  my  wife  with  a loaded  pistol.  She 
carried  it  in  her  basket,  to  save,  as  she  said,  my  scalp 
from  the  Indians.  During  the  day  that  we  passed 
through  the  Creek  wilderness,  we  stopped  at  a small 
creek  to  water  the  horses.  The  road  was  causewayed 
for  some  distance  along  the  creek.  My  wife  was  so 
unwell,  that  she  could  not  bear  the  jolting  of  such  a 
road.  She  got  out,  and  walked  forward  until  she  was 
out  of  sight.  She  observed  that  a cane  thicket  was  on 
each  side  of  the  road,  so  as  to  form  just  such  conceal- 
ment as  would  suit  the  Indians  if  they  intended  attack- 
ing travellers.  I was  delayed  longer  than  usual  for 
watering  the  horses,  by  some  accident  which  had  hap- 
pened to  the  carriage,  which  the  driver  and  myself 
were  repairing.  My  wife  became  restless,  and  walked 
back  until  she  saw  me.  This  was  the  only  evidence  she 
gave  of  alarm  during  our  travel  through  the  country  of 
the  hostile  Indian  savages.  When  we  reached  within 
two  miles  of  the  Tallapoosa  Kiver,  we  found  cabins. 
The  doors  were  open ; spinning  wheels  wrere  in  the 
yard  ; nobody  was  to  be  seen.  It  was  evident  that  the 
inhabitants  had  fled  upon  some  sudden  apprehension 
of  danger.  Upon  crossing  the  river,  we  went  to  the 
house  where  we  had  been  directed  to  apply  for  lodging. 
The  mistress  had  been  carried  away  in  a fainting  fit. 
We  had  to  travel  six  miles  before  we  found  a cabin 
occupied.  We  stayed  at  one  located  in  a potato 
patch,  had  for  our  supper  sobbed  Irish  potatoes,  and 
coffee,  with  a grain  to  the  gallon  of  water,  without  milk 
or  sugar.  The  woman  said  that  so  many  had  fled  to 
her  house  the  night  before,  that  she  had  used  all  her 
meat  and  her  sweetening. 

We  arrived  at  Canalton  the  next  day,  and  found 
every  body  looking  out  for  Indians,  and  news  of  In- 


512 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


dians.  A few  miles  before  we  arrived  at  Newton  court- 
house, we  stopped  to  get  water  from  a house  near  the 
road.  My  carriage  driver  told  the  owner  of  the  place 
who  we  were.  He  was  an  old  acquaintance,  by  the 
name  of  Smith,  to  whom  I had  rendered  some  very  ac- 
ceptable services.  He  came  to  the  carriage  to  see  me, 
with  the  greatest  demonstrations  of  regard.  He  was  an 
officer  in  a volunteer  company  in  the  army  then  oper- 
ating against  the  Creek  Indians  under  Gen.  Scott.  He 
gave  us  the  first  news  from  the  Georgia  army ; who  of 
our  friends  belonged  to  it ; some  of  the  incidents  of 
their  operations  against  the  Creeks,  particularly  of  our 
friend  Captain  Dawson’s  going  down  the  Chattahoocha 
River  in  a boat  with  his  company ; the  fight  which  he 
had  had  with  the  Indians ; his  dangerous  position,  and 
his  gallantry.  Smith  so  magnified  the  danger,  and 
marvellousness  of  what  had  occurred,  that  we  were 
greatly  excited  by  what  we  heard.  The  account 
brought  so  forcibly  to  my  wife’s  imagination  the  dangers 
which  we  had  escaped,  and  made  her  realize  so  forcibly 
those  which  had  been  encountered  by  our  friends,  that 
she  cried  heartily.  Smith,  who  was  a kind,  sympathiz- 
ing fellow,  cried  in  company  with  her.  The  tears 
proved  a great  relief  to  her  pent-up  feelings.  It  was 
still  greater  relief  to  her  when  we  got  home,  and  knew 
that  our  travel  was  over,  that  we  were  surrounded  by 
a great  many  comforts  which  she  had  been  deprived 
of  for  some  time,  and  which  she  could  not  do  well  with- 
out, and  could  rest  until  rest  was  not  wanted. 

The  electoral  ticket  for  President  and  Vice-Presi- 
dent which  had  been  nominated  by  the  States-rights 
party,  was  elected.  The  Legislature  was  in  session 
when  the  electors  assembled  in  Milledgeville  to  give 
their  votes.  I was  chosen  president  of  the  college. 


FIKST  SETTLEES  OF  UPPER  GEOEGIA. 


513 


The  votes  of  the  electors  were  given,  counted  out,  and 
the  result  announced  in  the  House  of  Representatives, 
in  the  presence  of  the  senators  and  representatives. 
The  ups  and  downs  of  public  life  give  relish  to  the  en- 
joyment of  particular  instances  of  elevation,  far  beyond 
the  pleasure  derived  from  the  even  tenor  of  unvaried 
success.  The  defeat  which  I had  met  with  when  last 
a candidate  for  Congress,  made  the  display  attendant 
upon  the  doings  of  this  most  important  act  which  a 
citizen  of  the  United  States  is  ever  called  upon  to  per- 
form, agreeable  to  me,  to  whom  display  of  any  kind  is 
not  usually  very  acceptable. 

About  the  first  of  July,  1837,  my  wife  and  myself 
left  home  in  company  with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Prince,  they 
for  Boston  and  New  York,  and  we  for  Western  Vir- 
ginia. We  four  had  passed  the  time  of  the  session  of 
the  Legislature  of  1824  in  the  same  public  house, 
where  we  had  a private  table,  and  our  own  drawing- 
room. Mr.  Prince  and  myself  had  served  in  Congress 
together  in  1834-35.  We  had  acted  together  as  trus- 
tees  of  Franklin  College,  and  belonged  for  many  years 
to  the  same  bar  in  the  practice  of  the  law.  Mrs.  Prince 
was  a very  pretty  and  exceedingly  amiable  woman. 
Mr.  Prince  was  a man  of  wit  and  social  habits.  We 
went  by  the  way  of  Charleston  to  Norfolk.  A voyage 
on  the  ocean  was  new  to  Mrs.  Prince,  my  wife,  and 
myself.  The  ladies  were  sick  as  soon  as  they  they  got 
on  board  the  vessel.  I buttoned  up  my  coat,  put 
down  my  feet  firmly,  and  determined  that  I would  not 
be  sick.  I was  not  sick.  AVe  do  not  know  what  man- 
ner of  men  we  are.  How  much  my  freedom  from  sick- 
ness, so  universally  incident  to  a first  sea  voyage,  pro- 
ceeded from  the  control  of  my  will,  I do  not  know.  I 
had  looked  upon  the  ocean  once  before,  but  had  never 

33 


514 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


been  out  of  sight  of  land.  Its  vast  expanse  of  ever- 
moving  waters  is  always  a great  sight.  It  kept  me  so 
excited  that  I scarcely  left  the  deck  of  the  vessel  until 
we  got  to  Norfolk.  Mr.  Prince  went  to  the  north  to 
have  printed  a new  edition  of  liis  Digest  of  the  Public 
Laws  of  Georgia.  When  the  work  was  completed,  he 
and  Mrs.  Prince  left  New  York  for  their  home  in  the 
steam  vessel,  the  “Home.”  The  dreadful  catastrophe 
which  brought  destruction  upon  that  vessel,  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Prince,  and  almost  all  the  passengers,  made  such 
an  impression  upon  the  whole  country,  that  the  event 
is  yet  freshly  remembered  by  every  one  when  the 
Pursting  of  boilers,  the  burning  of  steamers,  and  the 
wreck  of  vessels  are  heard  of.  Soon  after  the  steamer 
left  New  York  a violent  storm  came  on,  which  drove 
the  vessel  to  the  North  Carolina  coast  in  a leaking, 
sinking  condition.  All  were  stimulated  to  do  what- 
ever could  be  done  to  save  the  vessel  and  themselves. 
Mr.  Prince  took  command  of  the  hands  at  the  pump, 
where  his  self-possession  and  strong  strokes  showed 
that  he  worked  for  a nobler  purpose  than  fear  for  his 
own  life.  When  exhausted  by  his  efforts,  he  joined  his 
wife  to  devote  himself  to  her  safety.  Her  self-sacri- 
ficing nature  would  not  yield  to  the  temptation  of  cling- 
ing to  her  husband,  when  his  exertions  might  be  ne- 
cessary for  the  safety  of  all.  She  urged  him  to  return 
to  his  efforts  at  the  pump.  Immediately  afterwards 
she  attempted  to  obey  the  advice  of  the  captain,  to 
remove  from  one  part  of  the  vessel  to  another  less  ex- 
posed  to  danger.  As  she  stepped  out  of  the  cabin 
into  an  open  space,  a wave  passed  over  and  through 
the  vessel,  and  carried  her  into  the  ocean.  When  the 
storm  subsided,  her  body  was  found  deposited  on  the 
shore.  Mr.  Prince,  resuming  his  labors  at  the  pump, 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


515 


was  spared  tlie  pangs  of  knowing  the  fate  of  liis  wife. 
To  a young  man  who  lived  to  report  tlie  expression, 
Mr.  Prince  said,  “ Remember  me  to  my  child,  Vir- 
ginia,” what  else  the  uproar  of  the  ocean  prevented 
being  heard.  No  account  was  ever  given  of  the  last 
struggle  for  life  by  those  who  worked  at  the  pump. 
In  a great  heave  of  the  ocean,  the  vessel  parted  asun- 
der and  went  to  the  bottom. 

We  left  Norfolk  in  a steamboat  bound  up  James 
River  for  Richmond.  Judge  May,  of  the  General  Court 
of  Virginia,  was  a passenger.  Hearing  my  name  he  intro- 
duced himself,  and  asked  if  I was  a relation  of  Mr. 
Peachy  Gilmer.  I answered  that  I was,  knew  him 
well,  and  liked  him  very  much.  He  told  me  that  they 
had  been  college  class-mates  and  intimate  friends.  I 
had  the  full  benefit  of  his  regard  for  my  kinsman  du- 
ring our  trip  up  the  river.  He  knew  very  familiarly 
all  the  places  in  sight  from  the  boat.  The  day  was 
clear  and  pleasant.  We  remained  most  of  the  time  on 
the  top  of  the  boat.  The  houses  and  plantations  of 
many  of  the  old  aristocratic  families  of  Virginia  were 
within  view.  My  time  passed  delightfully  in  listening 
to  his  account  of  the  antique  buildings,  their  builders, 
and  various  occupants.  I have  a great  taste  for  the 
subject,  and  was  feasted  to  my  heart’s  content.  As  we 
went  by  the  island  of  Jamestown,  on  which  the  first 
effective  settlement  was  made  in  Virginia,  we  took  on 
board  a curiosity  hunter,  who  had  just  been  on  the 
island  searching  for  relics  of  the  first  settlers.  He 
showed  his  broken  pipe-stems,  rusty  buttons,  and  other 
odd  matters  to  attach  value  to.  All  that  remained  of 
the  old  town,  was  part  of  the  wall  of  a church,  and  a 
chimney.  The  only  house  on  the  island  was  occupied  by 
Dr.  Peachy,  a distant  relation  through  my  great-grand- 
mother, Mary  Peachy  Walker. 


516 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


My  ancestors  of  every  stock  had  been  for  the  pre- 
ceding century  Virginians.  Tlie  difficulties  which  the 
first  settlers  had  encountered,  the  massacre  by  the 
Indians,  the  marvellous  adventures  of  Captain  Smith, 
the  love  of  Pocahontas,  had  been  conned  over  in  child- 
hood like  Sandford  and  Merton,  Robinson  Crusoe,  and 
the  Pilgrim’s  Progress. 

We  spent  a few  days  in  Richmond  with  my  wife’s 
brother,  P.  R.  Grattan ; went  to  Goochland,  where  we 
stayed  a short  time  with  our  brother-in-law  Dr.  Harris, 
and  then  made  our  way  to  the  valley.  The  time  was 
engaged  so  sweetly,  and  stole  on  so  imperceptibly,  that 
our  allotted  time  was  gone  long  before  we  were  prepar- 
ed to  leave  our  friends.  I found  on  my  return  to 
Georgia  the  election  for  Governor  waxing  warm.  It 
was  very  uncertain  who  would  be  elected.  I had  been 
defeated  three  years  before,  when  a candidate  for  Con- 
gress, although  circumstances  had  given  me  unusual 
popularity  at  the  time.  I was  opposing  the  Governor 
then  in  office,  who  had  some  special  means  in  his  power 
to  aid  his  re-election.  The  state  of  the  polls  as  heard 
from,  kept  the  result  very  doubtful  for  two  or  three 
weeks.  Each  mail  added  to  the  interest,  by  continuing 
the  uncertainty.  Most  civilized  nations  have  games  or 
shows  of  some  sort,  for  keeping  alive  the  spirit  of  their 
people.  Our  popular  elections  answer  that  pupose 
most  admirably.  Every  body,  men,  women,  and  chil- 
dren, from  the  most  learned  to  the  most  ignorant,  are 
stirred  into  action  or  thought  when  elections  are  going 
on.  All  talk,  all  feel,  and  all  know  something  more 
than  they  did  before.  Some  time  after  the  election 
was  over,  but  before  the  state  of  the  polls  was  known, 
my  wife  and  myself  whiled  away  a rainy  day  which 
restlessness  would  not  let  us  devote  to  regular  business, 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


517 


in  reading  the  letters  which  had  passed  between  ns  be- 
fore we  were  married.  We  found  one  which  had  been 
written  soon  after  I was  first  chosen  a member  of  the 
Legislature  twenty  years  before.  It  described  the 
drinking  and  fighting,  the  bravado  and  palavering,  the 
speaking  and  cheering,  on  the  day  of  the  election,  and 
concluded  by  declaring,  that  I would  never  again  enter 
the  arena  where  such  disgraceful  scenes  were  exhibited. 
We  forgot  for  a while  the  election,  in  a hearty  laugh 
at  my  expressions  of  disgust  at  the  ways  of  election- 
eering, my  observation  that  I would  never  offer  again 
for  any  office,  and  my  continued  offering  from  that  time 
to  then,  when  I was  listening  on  the  tiptoe  of  excite- 
ment to  hear  whether  or  not  the  majority  of  the  votes 
of  the  State  had  been  given  to  make  me  Governor. 


GHAPTE  II  X Y . 

I went  to  Milledgeville  a few  days  before  the  time 
for  my  inauguration.  Mr.  Dawson  was  there.  He  and 
my  wife  being  sticklers  for  the  punctilious  observance 
of  etiquette,  insisted  that  I should  pay  my  respects  to 
Gov.  Schley  in  the  Executive  office.  Knowing  but  little 
about  forms,  I felt  that  my  success  over  Gov.  Schley 
required  that  I should  be  very  courteous  to  him.  So  I 
did  as  I was  advised,  made  my  bow  to  the  Governor, 
and  attempted  to  enter  into  familiar  conversation  with 
him.  Taking  my  call  for  one  of  assumacy,  he  treated 
it  accordingly.  I tried  to  conciliate  his  wounded  feel- 
ings, by  drawing  off  his  thoughts  from  ourselves,  and 
directing  them  to  some  subject  upon  which  we  could 
talk  freely.  I ventured  to  speak  of  the  loss  of  “ the 


518 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


Home,”  tlien  fresli  in  the  minds  of  every  body,  our 
friends  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Prince,  our  travelling  together,  &c., 
<fcc.  It  would  not  do.  The  Governor  spoke  in  reply 
so  harshly  of  Mr.  Prince,  that  I could  be  in  no  doubt 
but  'that  the  etiquette  was  out  of  fashion  or  did  not 
suit  the  case,  bowed  again,  and  took  my  leave.  Nil 
disputandum , cG.,  the.,  &c. 

The  following  is  an  extract  from  my  inaugural  ad- 
dress. 


Fellow  Citizens, — Before  I enter  upon  tlie  duties  of  the 
office  to  which  I have  been  called  by  your  favorable  opinion,  I 
must  avail  myself  of  the  present  opportunity  to  express  to  you 
the  deep  sense  of  gratitude  which  I feel  for  this  proof  which  you 
have  given  of  your  renewed  confidence. 

Whilst  I am  very  sensible  of  the  high  honor  conferred  upon 
me,  I cannot  hut  feel  the  weight  of  responsibility  which  it  brings 
with  it.  and  my  inability  to  serve  the  State  to  the  extent 
of  its  wants,  and  my  own  wishes.  It  is  some  relief,  how- 
ever, from  the  consciousness  of  my  deficiencies,  that  the  office 
has  been  conferred,  not  assumed,  nor  sought  for ; that  in  the 
canvass  I left  the  election  to  the  free  and  unbiassed  suffrages  of 
the  people ; that  I excited  no  expectations,  alarmed  no  fears, 
made  no  promises,  and  shall  enter  office  without  incurring  any 
obligations  but  in  accordance  with  the  public  will,  and  the  re- 
quirements of  the  solemn  oath  I am  about  to  take. 

In  making  appointments,  I shall  select  from  those  Avhose  ser- 
vices I can  command,  the  best  qualified  to  do  what  the  law  re- 
quires. Placing  the  greatest  value  upon  the  freedom  of  politi- 
cal opinions  myself,  I shall  endeavor  to  do  justice  to  others  who 
may  differ  from  me.  Those  who  have  sought  the  aid  of  party 
power  to  procure  office,  by  ejecting  faithful  incumbents,  can 
scarcely  expect  to  escape  the  application  of  the  same  rule  of  con- 
duct to  themselves. 

I believe  it  to  be  important  to  perfect  our  State  institutions 
by  reforming  the  Constitution,  simplifying  and  rendering  cer- 
tain the  laws,  improving  the  mode  of  their  administration,  mak- 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


519 


ing  their  execution  efficient,  and  correcting  the  defects  of  our 
system  of  public  education. 

The  rapid  settlement  of  the  Cherokee  country,  the  abundance 
of  its  iron,  lime  and  marble,  the  fertility  of  its  soil  in  producing 
grain  and  tobacco,  and  its  distance  from  navigation,  have  created 
new  and  strong  inducements  to  the  State,  for  availing  itself  of 
the  improvements  which  are  constantly  making  in  the  construc- 
tion of  railroads,  to  develope  the  great  resources  of  that  portion 
of  it,  by  increasing  the  facilities  for  carrying  its  heavy  produc- 
tions to  market. 

I believe  it  to  he  our  highest  political  duty  to  retain  the 
organization  of  the  Government  in  the  form  which  our  forefathers 
gave  it ; limiting  the  United  States  to  legislation  upon  the 
general  subjects  specified  in  the  Constitution,  and  preserving 
unimpaired  the  rights  of  the  States  and  the  people.  Our  pe- 
culiar domestic  relations,  slave  labor,  and  its  productions,  render 
this  duty  imperative  upon  the  Southern  people.  These  interests 
are  in  constant  danger  of  being  sacrificed  to  selfish  cupidity,  or 
the  zeal  of  fanaticism ; and  being  represented  in  the  General 
Government  by  a minority,  as  they  always  will  be,  can  only  be 
protected  by  unceasing  vigilance. 

Knowing  from  experience  the  difficulties  to  be  encountered 
by  your  Chief  Magistrate  in  times  of  high  party  strife,  I am  sure 
I shall  stand  in  need  of  your  kindest  indulgence  and  most  liberal 
support.  Unconscious  of  any  selfish  object  in  accepting  office,  I 
confidently  trust  my  conduct  will  be  directed  exclusively  to  the 
public  good. 

A short  time  after  I went  into  office,  fifteen  hun- 
dred mounted  men,  headed  by  Gen.  Nelson,  came  down 
from  the  Cherokee  counties,  and  marched  into  the 
suburbs  of  Milledgeville,  with  the  military  display  of 
an  army  going  to  war.  They  said  that  they  were  on 
their  way  to  Florida.  But  the  United  States  had  made 
no  call  upon  Georgia  for  such  an  army  ; and  it  was 
obvious  to  any  one  who  knew  any  thing  of  the  public 
service,  that  so  many  troops  would  encumber  instead 
of  promoting  it.  They  encamped,  and  asked  the  Legis- 


520 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


lature  for  money.  Resolutions  were  immediately  passed 
by  botli  Houses,  appropriating  thirty  thousand  dollars 
for  their  use,  directing  that  the  General  Government 
should  be  charged  with  the  amount,  and  requesting  the 
Governor  to  use  means  to  have  it  repaid  to  the  State 
by  the  United  States.  As  soon  as  the  resolutions  re- 
ceived the  sanction  of  both  Houses,  two  distinguished 
members,  and  very  intimate  friends,  came  into  the 
Executive  office,  and  urged  me  to  sign  them.  They 
apprehended  gross  insult  or  great  personal  violence  to 
me  if  I should  refuse.  They  reported  to  those  who 
deputed  them,  that  my  answer  was  that  I would  veto 
the  resolutions  if  I died  for  it.  When  the  resolutions 
were  presented  to  me  for  signature,  I declined,  and 
returned  them  with  the  following  message : 

Executive  Department,  Milledgeville,  21  st  Dec.,  1837. 

I return  to  the  House  of  Representatives  the  resolutions 
which  originated  in  that  body,  passed  both  Houses,  and  were 
presented  to  me  on  the  21st  inst.,  upon  the  subject  of  an  appro- 
priation of  money  for  the  use  of  the  large  body  of  mounted  men, 
stated  to  be  now  on  their  march  to  Florida,  with  my  reasons  for 
disapproving  them. 

From  the  account  already  laud  before  the  House,  it  is  evident 
that  the  men  for  whose  benefit  the  appropriation  is  intended, 
have  been  raised  without  the  authority  of  this  State,  or  the 
United  States  ; that  the  requisition  which  had  been  made  upon 
Georgia  for  volunteers  to  serve  in  the  Florida  campaign,  had 
been  withdrawn  ; and  that  Gen.  Nelson,  by  whom  they  have  been 
raised,  had  no  orders,  and  held  no  commission  from  either  Govern- 
ment justifying  such  a measure.  I cannot,  therefore,  perceive 
how  the  public  money  can,  with  propriety,  be  applied  to  their 
use.  They  can  only  be  considered  as  so  many  individuals  direct- 
ing themselves  according  to  their  own  wishes,  to  whatsoever 
course  or  purpose,  they  may  please  ; that  although  they  allege 
that  they  are  on  their  way  to  Florida,  they  are  under  no  legal 
obligation  to  serve  against  the  Seminoles  ; and  that  if  they 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


521 


should  receive  the  money  and  use  it,  they  would  still  he  at 
liberty  to  go  to  Florida  or  not. 

If  they  should  go  to  Florida,  the  probability  is,  that  they 
will  not  be  received  into  the  public  service.  The  Secretary  of 
War  and  Gen.  Jesup,  who  have  been  directing  the  operations 
for  carrying  on  the  campaign  in  Florida,  and  know  best  the 
materials  which  they  want,  and  what  force  can  be  maintained, 
show  by  their  letters  that  it  will  be  difficult  to  support  mounted 
men  there  ; that  even  when  they  required  twelve  hundred  volun- 
teers from  the  State,  few,  if  any,  mounted  men  were  desired  by 
them.  The  unexpected  accession  of  this  large  force  under  Gen. 
Nelson,  consisting  of  fourteen  or  fifteen  hundred  men,  and  near 
seventeen  hundred  horses,  must  necessarily  embarrass,  instead 
of  advancing  the  objects  of  the  campaign.  The  expenses  of  the 
Seminole  war  have  been  so  great  for  what  has  been  effected, 
that  the  officers  directing  it  must  be  very  unwilling  to  incur  the 
additional  cost  which  the  acceptance  of  this  force  must  incur, 
especially  as  it  is  not  the  kind  wanted  for  the  service. 
If  they  should  not  be  received,  they  must  sustain  losses  and 
undergo  suffering  in  making  their  way  home  through  a country 
already  scarce  of  provisions,  and  which  must  necessarily  be 
rendered  greatly  more  so  by  their  march  to  Florida,  which  it 
would  be  difficult  to  describe.  I do  not,  therefore,  think  the 
Legislature  ought  to  do  any  thing  to  aid  them  in  continuing  their 
march.  The  part  of  the  country  through  which  they  must  pass, 
whether  accepted  into  service  or  not,  will  have  its  quiet  and 
rights  of  property  disturbed  by  their  necessities.  The  very 
assembling  together  of  so  many  men  without  discipline,  and 
marching  through  the  country  without  authority  of  law,  the 
orders  of  the  State  or  General  Government,  or  beins:  under  the 
command  of  officers  having  the  right  to  control  them,  is  an  evil 
itself  of  great  magnitude,  and  ought  to  be  repressed  if  possible. 
They  have  been  drawn  exclusively  from  the  Cherokee  counties, 
and  those  adjoining  them.  It  is  matter  worthy  of  consideration, 
whether  the  Government,  bound,  as  it  is,  to  look  to  the  defence 
and  protection  of  its  own  people,  should  encourage  them  to  leave 
their  homes  for  other  service,  surrounded  as  they  are  by  Chero- 
kee Indians,  now  about  to  be  removed. 

For  the  purpose  of  showing  the  necessity  which  exists  for 


522 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


retaining  in  the  Cherokee  and  adjoining  counties  all  the  men 
capable  of  hearing  arms,  I submit  to  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives copies  of  communications  from  Gov.  Schley,  Col.  Nelson, 
and  other  persons,  upon  that  subject,  to  the  President  of  the 
United  States.  From  these  communications  it  appears,  that 
Gov.  Schley  considered  the  danger  to  the  Cherokee  country  so 
great  and  immediate  as  to  justify  him  in  assuming  an  authority 
not  given  by  the  lavs,  in  organizing  a large  military  force  for 
its  defence,  notwithstanding  that  the  United  States  had  at  the 
time  eleven  companies  stationed  in  it : that  by  a military  order3 
issued  the  3d  August,  from  Athens,  addressed  to  Col.  Nelson, 
he  directed  him  to  raise  and  organize  and  report  a regiment  as 
ready  for  duty.  Early  in  September,  Col.  Nelson  advised  Gov. 
Schley  that  the  time  had  already  arrived  when  this  regiment 
should  take  the  field  to  protect  the  people  from  the  Indians. 
Gov.  Schley  and  Gov.  Lumpkin  (the  Commissioner  of  the  United 
States,  then  residing  at  New  Echota,  and  having  the  best  means 
of  correct  information)  concurred  in  the  opinion  that  the  raising 
and  organizing  of  the  regiment  under  Col.  Nelson  was  producing 
the  happiest  effect,  in  removing  the  Indians  from  the  country. 
Gov.  Scl dc}’,  during  the  month  of  September,  expressed  his 
determination  to  arm  and  call  it  into  active  service.  If  there 
was  any  justification  whatever  for  raising  this  regiment  by  Gov. 
Schley  and  Col.  Nelson,  at  the  time  they  did,  or  any  reliance  to 
be  placed  upon  the  opinions  of  Gov.  Schley,  Col.  Nelson,  and 
the  United  States  Commissioner,  as  to  the  danger  to  be  appre- 
hended by  our  citizens  from  the  Cherokee  Indians,  and  the 
happy  effect  which  it  had  in  inducing  the  Indians  to  emigrate,  I 
submit  to  the  Legislature,  whether  it  is  proper  now,  when  the 
time  for  the  removal  of  the  Indians  comes  nearer,  to  withdraw 
from  the  Cherokee  and  adjoining  counties  the  large  force  now 
marching  to  Florida.  Admitting  that  Col.  Nelson’s  raising  the 
regiment,  and  stationing  one  company  in  each  of  the  Cherokee 
counties  had  another  purpose  than  the  defence  of  the  people,  still 
fears  must  have  been  created  among  them  by  these  warlike  pre- 
parations. It  is  indeed  highly  necessary  that  every  one  capable 
of  bearing  arms  in  the  Cherokee  counties  should,  if  possible,  be 
at  home,  to  keep  down  any  disposition  which  the  Indians  may 
have  to  do  mischief. 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


523 


Strong  as  I consider  these  objections  to  the  adoption  of  the 
resolutions,  they  .would  probably  have  been  overcome  by  my 
disposition  to  acquiesce  in  the  'will  of  the  Legislature,  but  for 
others  of  a higher  and  more  imperative  character. 

If  the  appropriation  he  made  for  the  benefit  of  the  men 
described  in  the  resolution,  it  cannot  he  for  any  services  which 
they  have  rendered  to  the  State ; or  in  consideration  of  any 
services  which  they  are  bound  by  law  or  contract  to  render 
hereafter.  By  the  Constitution,  the  General  Assembly  cannot, 
by  resolution,  grant  any  donation  or  gratuity,  in  favor  of  any 
person  whatever,  but  by  the  concurrence  of  two-thirds.  If  the 
money  attempted  to  be  appropriated  by  the  resolution  is  not  for 
services  already  rendered  to  the  State,  nor  hereafter  to  be  ren- 
dered, I do  not  perceive  clearly  how  the  appropriation  can  be 
considered  any  thing  but  a gratuity.  This  conclusion  has  prob- 
ably been  intended  to  be  avoided  by  the  second  resolution,  which 
orders  that  the  money  expended  in  pursuance  of  the  appropria- 
tion in  the  first  resolution,  shall  be  charged  to  the  Federal 
Government,  and  that  the  Governor  shall  take  the  means  to  have 
the  State  reimbursed.  I cannot  perceive  by  what  rule  of  right 
or  law  the  State  can  expend  money  for  its  own  citizens,  and 
charge  the  amount  to  the  United  States,  when  their  services 
have  neither  been  required  by,  nor  rendered  to  the  General 
Government.  I should  feel  at  a great  loss  to  know  wThat  means 
could  properly  be  taken  to  reimburse  the  State  for  such  an  ex- 
penditure. 

The  resolution  appears  to  recognize  the  authority  of  Gen. 
Nelson  to  command  the  men  as  Brigadier  General.  The  States 
reserved  the  right  in  the  Constitution  to  appoint  the  officers  of 
the  militia  which  may  be  called  into  the  service  of  the  United 
States.  The  law  of  Congress  which  authorizes  the  President  to 
l’aise  volunteers  for  the  Florida  service,  directs  that  the  officers 
shall  be  appointed  according  to  the  law  of  the  State  to  which 
they  may  belong.  The  Constitution  of  this  State  directs  that 
all  general  officers  of  the  militia  shall  be  elected  by  the  General 
Assembly.  If,  therefore,  these  men  had  been  raised  under  the 
authority  of  the  President  of  the  United  States,  still  they  must  be 
commanded  by  a Brigadier  General  chosen  by  the  Legislature,  and 
called  into  service  through  the  orders  of  the  Governor  of  the  State. 


524 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


I am  not  satisfied  that  the  Legislature  has  the  constitutional 
power  to  appropriate,  by  resolution,  thirty  thousand  dollars'  for 
the  purposes  stated,  by  directing  that  the  money  shall  he  paid 
out  of  the  contingent  fund  by  the  Governor.  The  Constitution 
provides,  that  no  money  shall  be  drawn  out  of  the  treasury,  or 
from  the  public  fund  of  the  State,  except  by  appropriation  made 
by  law.  The  object  of  this  provision  is,  to  secure  the  people 
from  inconsiderate  and  improper  dispositions  of  the  public  money, 
by  subjecting  each  appropriation  made  by  the  Legislature  to 
the  investigation  produced  by  reading  the  bill  containing  it  three 
times,  on  three  separate  days,  in  each  House,  as  must  be  done 
before  a law  can  be  passed.  A contingent  fund  is  created  dur- 
ing each  session  of  the  Legislature,  for  the  Executive  Depart- 
ment, because  the  Legislature  cannot  foresee,  and,  therefore, 
cannot  provide  specially  for  all  the  objects  requiring  an  advance- 
ment of  money  by  the  Governor  from  one  session  of  the  Legis- 
lature to  the  succeeding. 

If  these  men  noiv  marching  to  Florida  had  passed  by  the 
seat  of  Government  when  the  Legislature  wras  not  in  session, 
the  Governor  coidd  not  have  advanced  to  them  thirty  thou- 
sand dollars  to  defray  their  expenses,  out  of  the  contingent 
fund,  because  they  are  not  in  the  service  of  the  State,  and 
the  Legislature  could  not  have  intended  to  provide  for  such  a 
contingency.  The  last  contingent  fund  was  appropriated  for 
the  political  year  1 S3T,  which,  according  to  the  practice  of  mak- 
ing up  accounts  at  the  treasury  office,  expired  the  last  day  of 
October ; so  that  the  unexpended  balance  of  that  fund  has 
become  a part  of  the  unappropriated  funds  of  the  State,  to  be 
appropriated  by  law,  as  other  public  money,  except  for  such 
expenditures  as  were  made  during  the  political  year  1837, 
and  properly  charged  upon  that  fund. 

For  these  reasons,  it  appears  to  me  inconsistent  with  the 
spirit  of  the  Constitution  for  the  Legislature,  at  its  present 
session,  to  appropriate  thirty  thousand  dollars  by  resolution, 
charging  it  upon  the  contingent  fund  of  the  last  political  year  ; 
and  for  an  object  which  has  presented  itself  to  the  Legislature 
during  the  present  session,  is  understood,  and  therefore  not 
contingent.  For  these  several  reasons,  I cannot  approve  of 
the  resolution. 


George  K.  Gilmer. 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


525 


This  matter  will  not  be  fully  understood,  unless  it 
is  known  that  General  Nelson,  the  leader  of  this  mili- 
tary band,  was  a man  of  lawless  violence.  He  had 
some  years  before,  when  sub-officer  of  the  guard  of 
forty  men,  then  stationed  in  the  Cherokee  country,  un- 
der the  command  of  General  Sanford,  chained  the 
ministers  of  the  Gosjiel  who  had  been  found  residing 
among  the  Cherokees,  and  been  greatly  offended  at  the 
inquiry  which  I ordered  to  be  made  into  his  conduct 
on  that  account. 

He  and  his  fifteen  hundred  followers  went  to 
Florida,  where  they  killed  one  Indian  squaw;  for 
which  service  the  General  Government,  then  under  the 
sway  of  President  Van  Buren,  paid  them  more  than 
half  a million  of  dollars. 

A company  had  been  organized  in  each  of  the 
Cherokee  counties,  immediately  before  the  election  for 
Governor,  and  the  members  promised  the  very  desira- 
ble pay  given  by  the  United  States  to  mounted  infan- 
try, with  the  evident  expectation  that  all  of  them  would 
vote  esprit  de  corps  for  candidates  of  the  Van  Buren 
party.  . . . 

A citizen,  who  had  held  the  highest  office  in  Geor- 
gia, and  was  then  very  popular,  and  always  very  con- 
ciliatory, had  been  sent  into  the  Cherokee  country  by 
Mr.  Van  Buren  (where  political  opinions  and  party 
connections  were  less  fixed  at  the  time  than  elsewhere), 
previous  to  the  election,  with  some  little  commission 
which  kept  him  there  whilst  the  canvass  was  going  on. 

The  following  veto  of  the  resolution  of  the  Le- 
gislature, authorizing  the  borrowing  of  $150,000  by 
the  Directors  of  the  Central  Bank,  for  distribution 
among  the  people  of  a portion  of  the  State,  requires  a 
word  of  explanation.  The  Central  Bank  was  a State 


526 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


institution,  created  for  managing  profitably  the  money 
which  belonged  to  the  State,  which  had  been  derived 
from  the  sales  of  public  lands,  fees  for  grants,  &c.  It 
was,  however,  made  so  subservient  to  party  purposes, 
that  it  was  discontinued,  and  its  funds  ordered  to  be 
distributed  among  the  people. 

This  distribution  was  carried  on  so  much  more  in 
accordance  with  the  demands  of  the  people  for  money 
than  the  ability  of  the  bank  to  pay,  that  the  people  of 
many  counties  got  none.  The  Legislature  authorized 
the  Directors  to  borrow  $150,000,  to  make  up  the 
deficiency,  and  stop  the  clamor  of  those  who  said  that 
they  were  equally  entitled  with  those  who  had  received 
a share  to  a portion  of  the  public  money. 

Executive  Department,  Georgia,  2 d Dec,  18  Si. 

The  resolution,  which  originated  in  the  Senate,  and  has 
passed  both  Houses,  authorizing  the  Directors  of  the  Central 
Bank  to  borrow  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars,  to 
enable  the  bank  to  meet  the  dividends  to  the  counties  declared 
by  the  Directors,  and  yet  unpaid,  was  on  the  1st  of  December 
presented  to  me  for  approval. 

The  law  by  which  the  Central  Bank  was  created,  determines 
the  extent  of  the  authority  of  its  Directors.  That  law  cannot 
be  altered,  nor  the  powers  conferred  by  it  upon  the  Directors 
lessened  nor  increased  by  a resolution  of  the  Legislature. 

The  law,  in  pointing  out  the  duties  of  the  Directors  of  the 
Central  Bank,  as  special  agents  of  the  State,  grants  them  no 
power  to  borrow  money.  It  appears  to  me,  therefore,  to  be 
inconsistent  with  the  principles  of  legislation  to  attempt,  by 
resolution,  to  give  them  that  authority. 

By  the  Constitution,  all  bills  for  raising  revenue,  or  ap- 
propriating money,  must  originate  in  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives, and  be  read  three  times,  on  three  several  days, 
in  each  branch  of  the  General  Assembly.  This  resolution 
originated  in  the  Senate,  passed  through  none  of  the  forms 
required  by  the  Constitution  for  money  or  appropriation  bills, 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


527 


and  yet  authorizes  the  raising  by  loan  of  one  hundred  and 
fifty  thousand  dollars  by  the  Central  Bank,  and  appro- 
priates the  money  thus  to  be  raised  to  meet  the  dividend 
which  has  been  declared  by  the  Directors  of  the  bank.  With 
due  respect  for  the  two  Houses,  it  appears  to  me  that  the 
Legislature  cannot,  in  this  form,  raise  and  appropriate  money ; 
and,  not  having  the  power,  it  cannot  confer  it  upon  the  bank. 

The  possession  and  management  of  three  millions  of  money 
by  the  Directors  of  the  Central  Bank,  is  a vast  power,  and 
capable  of  being  made,  in  a popular  government,  where  the 
practical  administration  is  constantly  dependent  upon  the  ex- 
pression of  the  people’s  will,  through  frequent  elections,  an 
instrument  of  fatal  mischief.  The  guards  thrown  around  the 
bank  by  the  vigilance  of  those  who  administer  the  Govern- 
ment, can  neither  be  too  numerous  nor  too  watchful  to  prevent 
its  influence  from  being  directed  to  improper  purposes. 

If  the  Government  desires  to  continue  to  the  people  the 
advantages  they  derive  from  the  bank,  it  should  prevent,  by 
the  most  decided  means,  any  departure  of  the  Directors  from 
the  special  authority  intrusted  to  them.  I do  not  perceive 
very  clearly  the  force  of  the  position  assumed  by  the  Legis- 
lature, that  because  the  Directors  of  the  Central  Bank  have 
borrowed  money  at  seven  per  cent.,  to  distribute  at  six  among 
the  people  of  some  of  the  counties,  that  therefore  the  Legis- 
lature ought  to  do  the  same  thing  for  the  people  of  the  remain- 
ing counties. 

It  is  indeed  no  novelty  for  Governments  to  dispense  favors 
to  individuals  and  portions  of  the  people,  at  the  expense  of 
the  whole  community  ; but  it  is  scarcely  in  accordance  with 
the  fundamental  principle  of  our  legislative  authority,  that 
every  measure  must  be  conducive  to  the  good  of  the  State. 

Bor  these  reasons,  I cannot  approve  of  the  resolution,  and 
return  it  to  the  Senate,  where  it  originated. 

George  R.  Gilmer. 

Those  who  had  opposed  my  election,  endeavored  to 
excite  the  ill-will  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  Cherokee 
territory  against  me,  by  trying  to  make  it  appear  that 


528 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OE  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


I was  not  inclined  to  secure  tliem  against  Indian  vio- 
lence, nor  to  gratify  the  militia,  who  desired  to  he 
called  into  the  public  service  to  get  good  pay  from  the 
United  States. 

They  succeeded  in  passing  a resolution  through  the 
Senate,  calling  upon  the  Governor  for  such  information 
as  might  be  in  his  possession  relative  to  the  necessity 
of  providing  for  the  defence  of  the  Cherokee  counties 
of  the  State,  and  what  amount  of  forces,  mounted  or 
infantry,  was  necessary  for  said  service ; as  well  as  the 
best  method  of  raising  and  organizing  the  same ; and 
what  force,  if  any,  had  been  organized  for  that  section 
of  the  country,  and,  if  any,  what  force  is  considered  in 
readiness  to  act  for  that  purpose.  I answered— 

I have  received  no  official  communication  upon  the  several 
subjects  submitted  to  me  for  information  since  I have  been  in 
this  department.  Those  received  by  my  predecessor,  have 
already  been  laid  before  the  Legislature.  I am  not  able  to 
give  to  the  Senate  the  information  asked  for,  as  to  the  amount 
of  force  organized  for  the  Cherokee  country,  and  ready  to  act. 
I have  understood,  unofficially,  that  it  consists  of  eleven  com- 
panies, amounting  together  to  six  or  seven  hundred  men. 

It  is  proper  to  state,  from  its  connection  with  the  call 
made  upon  me  by  the  resolution,  that,  by  the  fourth  section 
of  the  fourth  article  of  the  Constitution,  the  United  States 
are  bound  to  protect  the  State  against  domestic  violence,  upon 
the  application  of  the  Legislature  of  the  State,  or,  if  the 
Legislature  is  not  in  session,  of  the  Executive.  I have  no 
doubt  that  the  authorities  of  the  General  Government,  if  they 
have  not  already  provided  troops  sufficient  to  protect  the 
people  of  the  Cherokee  country  from  Indian  violence,  •will 
do  so,  upon  proper  representations  being  made  to  them,  either 
by  the  Legislature  or  Executive. 

There  is  a difficulty  of  another  kind,  in  relation  to  the 
raising  of  such  troops  for  the  service  of  the  State  as  seems 
to  be  contemplated  by  the  resolution  of  the  Senate,  which 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


529 


I would  respectfully  suggest  as  worthy  of  some  consideration. 
By  the  tenth  section  of  the  first  article  of  the  Constitution 
of  the  United  States,  every  State  is  prohibited  from  keeping 
troops  in  time  of  peace,  unless  actually  invaded,  or  in  such 
imminent  danger  as  not  to  admit  of  delay. 

In  addition  to  the  security  to  be  derived  from  the  presence 
of  the  United  States  troops,  I would  recommend  that  danger 
shall  he  guarded  against,  by  requiring  every  captain  of  every 
militia  company  in  the  Cherokee  country  to  hold  his  command 
in  readiness,  to  aid  the  civil  officers  in  arresting  Indians  charged 
with  the  commission  of  crimes,  and  for  suppressing  combinations 
among  them  for  violent  purposes. 

To  render  militia  companies  more  efficient  than  they  can  be 
made  under  our  present  laws,  I would  respectfully  recommend 
to  the  Legislature  to  pass  a temporary  law,  applicable  to  the 
Cherokee  counties,  authorizing  the  sheriff  and  other  civil  officers 
to  require  the  captains,  and  those  under  their  command,  to  aid 
them  in  the  execution  of  their  duties,  whenever  the  number  of 
Indians  charged  with  the  violation  of  the  laws,  or  intended  mis- 
chief, shall  be  so  great  as  to  require  such  assistance. 

For  the  purpose  of  avoiding  any  violence  on  the  part  of  the 
Indians,  I consider  it  highly  necessary  that  they  should  he  pro- 
tected in  the  enjoyment  of  all  their  legal  rights. 

The  volunteer  companies,  which  had  been  organized 
in  the  frontier  counties  adjoining  the  Cherokee  terri- 
tory, for  the  purpose  of  overawing  the  Indians,  and 
suppressing  any  risings  for  doing  violence,  became  very 
eager  to  be  called  into  the  public  service,  to  enjoy  the 
pleasures  of  the  camp,  and  to  get  pay  for  doing  nothing. 
In  answer  to  their  demands,  I addressed  to  them  the 
following  communication 


Head- Quarters,  Milledgeville,  3 d March , 1838. 

Sir, — The  peace  and  safety,  the  property  and  lives  of  the 
people  of  the  Cherokee  country,  are  deeply  concerned  in  the 
conduct  of  your  command.  A mistake  in  your  duties,  or  a 
departure  from  them,  may  involve  the  country  in  an  Indian 
34 


530 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


war — the  greatest  possible  evil  to  those  who  are  exposed  to 
its  destructive  effects  and  exterminating  cruelties.  The  prin- 
ciple object  of  the  formation  of  your  companies  is,  to  give 
security  to  our  citizens ; to  overawe  the  revengeful  spirit  of 
the  lawless  portion  of  the  Indians ; to  prevent  the  people 
flying  from  their  homes  and  the  country  upon  every  rumor 
of  danger ; to  protect  your  families,  neighborhoods,  and  the 
people  of  each  county,  upon  sudden  emergencies,  when  the 
United  States  troops  may  not  be  present,  or  in  sufficient  force 
to  obviate  danger. 

The  United  States  Government  and  the  State  authorities 
intend  to  preserve  peace,  and  remove  the  Cherokees  from  the 
State  without  violence  if  possible.  All  their  efforts  are  directed 
to  the  accomplishment  of  this  object.  You  will,  therefore,  not 
only  make  no  attacks  whatever  upon  the  Indians,  but  endeavor 
to  prevent  all  others  from  molesting  them  whilst  they  remaim 
peaceable.  Until  the  25th  of  May,  the  Indians  have  the  right 
to  retain  their  possessions,  and  to  remain  undisturbed  in  the 
country.  You  have  nothing  to  do  with  disarming  them,  or 
removing  them  from  their  fields  until  that  time  ; and  then  only 
in  co-operation  with,  and  upon  the  request  of  the  United  States 
officer,  to  whom  the  duty  of  removing  them  is  intrusted  by  the 
President  of  the  United  States. 

I have  been  asked  by  some  of  you,  whether  the  captain 
of  a company  is  not  authorized,  by  the  third  section  of  the 
law,  to  call  his  company  to  the  field?  Certainly  not.  The 
colonel  of  the  regiment  is  the  commander  spoken  of  who 
has  that  power,  and  he  can  only  do  so  when  the  Indians 
assemble  together  for  hostile  purposes,  and  under  circumstances 
which  do  not  admit  of  the  delay  of  sending  for  orders  to  the 
commander-in-chief,  and  when  the  United  States  troops  cannot 
prevent  the  danger. 

I have  received  a great  many  applications  to  call  the 
companies  into  the  field  at  [once.  Mixed  up  together  as  the 
Indians  are  with  our  people  throughout  the  whole  Cherokee 
country,  it  is  believed  to  be  impolitic  to  call  you  into  service, 
except  in  cases  of  actual  danger,  and  for  self-defence.  The 
men  of  the  country  could  not  consent,  nor  ought  the  Govern- 
ment to  require  them,  to  leave  their  families  and  property 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


581 


exposed  to  the  attacks  of  neighboring  Indians  when  hostilities 
commence.  The  whole  country  might  he  depopulated  by  such 
policy.  Until  there  is  a probable  prospect  of  the  Indians 
rising  in  arms,  I have  no  right  to  call  you  to  the  field. 

I have  understood  that  some  of  those  who  will  be  the  owners 
of  the  lands  now  occupied  by  the  Indians,  are  very  desirous 
of  using  the  companies  as  the  means  of  getting  rid  of  their 
occupants  in  time  to  put  the  lands  into  profitable  cultivation. 
The  lives  of  unoffending  women  and  children,  and  the  whole 
property  of  the  citizens  of  the  Cherokee  country,  are  not  to 
be  endangered  for  such  an  object.  Indeed,  I hope  that  the 
number  of  those  who,  for  their  own  selfish  and  lawless  pur- 
poses, would  thus  trifle  with  the  rights  and  interest  of  the 
whole  community,  are  too  few  to  have  any  influence  whatever 
upon  the  conduct  of  the  companies. 

I have  also  been  warned,  that  there  are  many  persons 
who  have  desired  to  connect  themselves  with  the  companies, 
for  the  purpose  of  getting  the  pay  of  mounted  men,  by  directing 
the  companies  from  the  purposes  of  preserving  the  peace  of 
the  country,  and  effecting  the  quiet  removal  of  the  Indians, 
to  such  course  as  would  require  the  companies  to  he  called  to 
the  field.  I know  that  there  are  such  persons ; hut  it  would 
appear  to  he  impossible  that  they  can  be  sufficiently  numerous 
to  be  able  to  control  the  conduct  of  any  one  company,  composed 
as  they  all  are  of  citizens,  whose  families,  friends,  and  property 
belong  to  the  Cherokee  country.  If  any  person  should  be 
detected  in  such  conduct,  his  punishment  will  he  made  a warn- 
ing example  to  those  who  would  sacrifice  the  public  safety  to 
their  own  private  ends.  Some  of  you  have  complained  that 
troops  have  been  drawn  from  other  parts  of  the  State,  for  the 
defence  of  the  Cherokee  country,  instead*  of  calling  your  com- 
panies into  service.  The  duty  of  protecting  the  people  of  the 
State  from  Indian  violence,  and  executing  Indian  treaties,  belong 
to  the  President  of  the  United  States.  It  is  only  when  the  Presi- 
dent fails  to  discharge  that  duty  within  Georgia,  that  the  Governor 
of  the  State  is*authorized  to  call  the  militia  into  the  field.  The 
President  is  of  the  opinion,  that  the  lives  and  property  of  the 
people  of  the  Cherokee  country  will  be  most  certainly  guarded 
by  drawing  the  troops  necessary  for  that  purpose  from  parts  of 


532 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


the  country  -where  there  are  no  Indians ; leaving  the  volunteer 
companies  and  militia  of  the  Cherokee  country  to  strengthen  the 
defence  of  their  own  homes,  neighborhoods,  and  counties.  He 
has  promised  that  an  ample  force  shall  be  provided  for  the  pro- 
tection of  those  who  are  exposed  to  the  attack  of  the  Indians. 
He  is  accordingly  ordering  companies  into  those  positions  where 
the  people  are  most  exposed  to  the  numerous  bodies  of  Indians, 
as  rapidly  as  the  extent  of  the  danger  appears  to  require.  So 
long  as  the  President  continues  to  do  this,  it  is  not  proper  to 
order  out  any  of  your  companies.  It  is  surely  no  serious  cause 
of  complaint,  that  you  are  permitted  to  remain  at  home,  attend- 
ing to  your  own  affairs,  ready  to  protect  your  families  and 
property — that  you  have  arms  put  into  your  hands,  and  com- 
panies organized  to  give  protection  to  your  homes  and  neighbor- 
hoods— and  that  troops  are  sent  from  other  parts  of  the  State  to 
give  you  additional  security. 

Whenever  I am  convinced  that  the  protection  of  the  Chero- 
kee people  requires  any  of  your  companies  to  be  ordered  into 
service,  I will  not  fail  to  order  them.  I will  do  •whatever  I can 
to  add  to  the  security  of  the  country,  give  peace  and  quiet  to 
the  people,  and  remove  the  Indians  from  the  State. 

It  is  important  to  the  public  service,  that  I should  be  con- 
stantly and  accurately  informed  of  the  temper  and  movement  of 
the  Indians  in  each  county.  You  are,  therefore,  requested  to 
write  to  this  office  as  often  as  may  he  necessary  for  that  purpose. 
Take  care  to  have  your  arms  and  ammunition  constantly  in  good 
order,  and  ready  for  immediate  action. 

Give  your  orders  to  your  non-commissioned  officers  in  such 
manner,  that  the  company  may  be  assembled  in  the  shortest 
possible  time.  Muster  them  frequently,  so  as  to  improve  their 
discipline  and  render  them  efficient  when  called  to  the  field.  If 
the  Indians  in  your  county  should  commence  hostilities,  you  will 
not  wait  for  orders  from  the  colonel  of  the  regiment,  or  the 
commander-in-chief,  hut  put  yourselves  under  the  command  of 
the  militia  officers  of  the  county,  or  otherwise  defend  the  people 
in  the  best  manner  you  can.  The  laws  of  self-d'efence  will  jus- 
tify you  in  this  course. 


George  R.  Gilmer. 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


533 


In  giving  an  account  of  Mr.  Wirt’s  proposal  to  sub- 
mit. to  the  Supreme  Court  for  its  decision,  the  question 
whether  the  State  of  Georgia  had  the  rightful  power 
to  govern  its  Indian  population,  I mentioned  that  I 
was  made  more  angry  than  I ever  was  but  once.  The 
course  of  my  narrative  has  brought  me  to  the  occasion 
referred  to. 

As  the  time  for  the  removal  of  the  Cherokees  ap- 
proached, they  became  more  and  more  restless,  and  the 
Georgians  among  them,  and  on  the  frontiers,  more  and 
more  fearful  lest  they  should  suffer  from  some  murder- 
ing outbreak.  I requested  the  Secretary  of  War  to 
guard  against  the  danger  by  stationing  additional 
troops  among  the  Indians,  and  to  appoint  an  agent 
whom  I named,  who  was  known  to  be  related  to  some 
of  the  influential  chiefs ; was  a man  of  character  and 
intelligence  ; was  confided  in  by  them,  and  admirably 
qualified  to  do  what  was  wanted  to  be  done ; who 
should  be  directed  to  go  among  them,  ascertain 
whether  their  designs  tended  to  massacres,  and  if  they 
did,  to  notify  the  General  and  State  Governments ; 
and  that  he  should  endeavor  to  convince  them  that 
their  true  interest  required  them  to  remove  to  the 
west  of  the  Mississippi.  The  Secretary  of  War,  and 
some  of  his  special  party  friends  among  the  members 
of  Congress  from  Georgia,  concurred  in  appointing  an 
agent  who  was  unknown  to  the  Indians,  and  had  no 
useful  qualifications  whatever  for  his  agency.  This 
they  did  lest  some  popular  good  might  be  done  by  one 
to  whom  they  were  politically  opposed.  When  I 
knew  that  the  safety  of  the  women  and  children  under 
my  official  care,  was  thus  trifled  with  by  those  whose 
duty  it  was  to  aid  me  in  protecting  them,  and  that  the 
use  of  the  best  means  for  removing  the  Indians  peacea- 


534 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


bly  and  willingly  to  t-lieir  home  in  the  West  was  neg- 
lected from  selfish  party  motives,  my  anger  was  such 
as  I desire  never  to  feel  asrain. 

o 

The  following  correspondence  with  the  Secretary 
of  War,  John  Ross,  and  the  members  of  Congress  from 
Georgia,  is  considered  of  sufficient  historical  value  to 
be  inserted  entire. 


Executive  Department,  Milledgeville,  9 th  March,  1838. 

To  Mr.  John  Ross: 

Sir, — The  President  having  declined  receiving  any  further 
propositions  of  the  Cherokee  delegation  for  setting  aside  or 
altering  the  treaty,  and  your  memorial  to  Congress  having  been 
rejected  hy  the  House  of  Representatives,  all  hope  of  success  in 
your  efforts  to  effect  that  object  must  be  at  an  end.  The  policy 
which  you  may  adopt,  under  these  circumstances,-  is  of  great 
importance,  not  only  to  your  owm  people,  hut  the  numerous  white 
population  residing  among  them. 

The  law  of  necessity,  or,  if  you  please,  the  harsh  and  un- 
yielding will  of  superior  power,  has  determined  that  the  portion 
of  the  Cherokees  remaining  in  the  State,  must  remove  to  the 
country  provided  for  them  in  the  W est.  How  will  you  meet  this 
necessity,  against  which  you  can  no  longer  contend  ? Will  you 
bend  to  the  blast  to  rise  with  renewed  energies  when  it  passes 
away,  or  by  resisting  it  sink  beneath  its  force  ? If  these  were 
questions  which  concerned  yourself  alone,  the  dictates  of  pride, 
or  determined  self-will,  might  disregard  consequences.  But  the 
peace  and  happiness  of  thousands  may  be  involved  in  your 
course.  Your  unwearied  and  unwavering  exertions  in  behalf  of 
your  people,  have  been  unavailing,  except  to  secure  to  you  their 
highest  confidence.  The  time  has  arrived  when  that  confidence 
enables  you  to  render  them  the  most  important  service.  You 
must  be  aware  that  the  Cherokees  are  not  preparing  to  emi- 
grate ; that  they  are  yet  hoping  that  you  and  their  other  chiefs 
will  obtain  a modification  of  the  treaty,  so  as  to  permit  them  to 
remain  where  they  are  ; that  when  the  time  arrives  for  remov- 
ing them,  force  must  be  applied — and  that  great  suffering,  the 
loss  of  many  lives,  and  the  destruction  of  much  property,  will 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


535 


probably  be  the  consequence,  unless,  in  the  mean  time , they  can 
be  convinced,  that  all  expectations  of  retaining  their  present 
possessions  are  delusory,  and  do  voluntarily  what  must  other- 
wise be  effected  by  compulsion. 

It  requires  no  strong  invention  to  imagine  the  suffering  and 
distress  which  must  be  inflicted  upon  your  people,  if  hunted  up 
by  an  undisciplined  soldiery,  and  forced  from  their  homes.  You, 
at  least,  stand  in  no  need  of  the  description.  Your  people  are 
looking  to  you  to  direct  them  in  this  their  greatest  difficulty. 
You  can  save  them  from  the  evils  that  threaten  them,  by  per- 
suading them  to  unite  with  their  friends  in  the  west,  before  the 
time  arrives  when,  by  the  terms  of  the  treaty,  force  can  be 
used. 

I know  how  easily  the  motives  of  the  best  actions  may  be 
misrepresented.  The  Cherokees  have  been  rendered  so  suspi- 
cious of  all  contracts  with  the  Government,  that  I believe  it  to 
be  important  even  to  your  success  in  removing  them,  to  return 
home  and  convince  them  that  all  hopes  of  retaining  their  pre- 
sent possessions  are  vain ; that  your  efforts  for  that  purpose 
have  proved  fruitless,  and  that  a proper  regard  for  their  interest 
and  safety  require  that  they  shoidd  no  longer  resist  the  views 
of  the  Government.  If,  upon  doing  so,  you  find  an  acquiescence 
(as  I am  satisfied  you  will)  upon  the  part  of  your  people,  the 
Government  will  unquestionably  furnish  ample  means  to  re- 
move them,  and  a liberal  compensation  in  addition,  if  they  go 
without  the  aid  of  contractors  and  agents. 

Sir,  I could  not  write  to  you  upon  this  subject,  but  with  the 
fullest  consciousness  that  what  I say  is  in  good  faith,  and  ray 
motives  such  as  your  own  people  would  approve.  It  is  my  anx- 
ious desire  that  the  Cherokees  should  be  treated  with  humanity. 
I am  using  every  exertion  to  prevent  all  violations  of  their 
rights  of  possession  and  property.  It  is  true,  that  I have  long 
been  thoroughly  convinced  that  their  present  situation  is  not 
the  best  suited  for  their  continued  improvement  and  preserva- 
tion as  a distinct  people,  but  I believe  I have  at  all  times 
adopted  the  kindest  policy  towards  them  which  my  official  sta- 
tion would  permit. 

I once  saved  the  lives  of  two  of  our  Indian  people.  It  has 
ever  remained  a green,  sunny  spot  on  the  field  of  my  life.  What 


536 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


a deep  and  abiding  source  of  happiness  it  will  be  to  you,  if  you 
shall  save  many  lives,  by  leading  your  people  peacefully  to  their 
homes  in  the  W est ! 

Very  respectfully,  yours,  &c., 

George  R.  Gilmer. 

Executive  Department,  Milledgeville , 14 tli  April,  1838. 

To  the  Hon.  Joel  R.  Poinsett: 

Sir, — I hope  that  your  severe  illness,  about  which  every  one 
having  business  to  transact  with  the  War  Department,  must, 
like  myself,  feel  great  concern,  will  have  passed  away  before 
this  time. 

I send  you  an  extract  of  a letter  just  received  from  Ross,  in 
answer  to  a communication  which  I addressed  him  at  the  same 
time  I wrote  to  you.  I am  convinced  that  I was  mistaken  in 
my  endeavor  to  make  him  an  instrument  for  doing  good. 

The  loss  of  all  hope  of  obtaining  the  co-operation  of  Ross  in 
removing  the  Cherokees,  has  added  to  my  anxiety  that  the  most 
ample  means  should  be  used  to  secure  our  citizens  from  the 
effects  of  his  machinations.  The  troops  which  are  ordered  into 
the  Cherokee  country,  from  this  and  the  adjoining  States,  being 
raw  and  undisciplined,  and  scattered  over  the  country  in  small 
detachments,  will  stand  very  much  in  need  of  a regular  force,  to 
give  confidence  and  success  to  their  movements. 

Permit  me  to  urge  the  importance  of  concentrating  in  the 
Cherokee  country,  in  as  short  a time  as  possible,  the  whole  of 
the  United  States  army,  which  can  with  propriety  be  drawn 
from  other  service. 

The  Indians  are  as  yet  entirely  quiet,  but  they  are  not  en- 
rolling for  emigration.  Those  who  have  enrolled  are  refusing  to 
leave  the  country,  and  they  are  generally  continuing  their  pre- 
parations for  another  crop.  Ross’s  refusal  to  return  home  after 
the  conclusive  action  of  both  Houses  of  Congress  upon  his  me- 
morial, renders  it  certain  that  force  must  be  used  in  removing 
his  people.  The  more  controlling  that  force  may  be,  the  less 
will  be  the  mischievous  effects  of  the  opposition  of  Ross  and  his 
friends. 

Very  respectfully,  yours,  &c., 

George  R.  Gilmer. 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


537 


[Copy  of  a letter  from  the  Hon.  Joel  R.  Poinsett  to  Governor  Gilmer. \ 
Department  of  "War,  December  16 th,  1831?. 

Sir, --In  my  letter  of  the  9th  instant,  I had  the  honor  to 
inform  your  Excellency,  that  you  should  be  timely  advised  of  the 
termination  of  the  correspondence  with  John  Ptoss.  That  cor- 
respondence I now  consider  at  an  end,  and  transmit  you  copies 
of  it  for  your  information. 

Very  respectfully,  your  most  obedient  servant, 

J.  R.  Poinsett. 

His  Excellency  George  R.  Gilmer, 

Governor  of  Georgia,  Milledgeville,  Ga. 


[Extract  of  a letter  from  John  Ross  to  the  Governor .] 

Washington  City,  April  6 th,  1838. 

To  liis  Excellency  George  R.  Gilmer: 

Sir, — Your  Excellency,  I hope,  will  long  ere  now  have  been 
aware  of  the  reasons  why  I have  not  sooner  personally  acknow- 
ledged the  receipt  of  your  letter  of  the  9th  of  March.  To  the 
honorable  Mr.  Dawson,  who  called  upon  me  to  say  that  he  had 
received  a copy  by  the  same  post,  I explained  myself  fully.  I 
presume  he  has  mentioned  my  conversation.  I need,  therefore, 
only  repeat  in  general  terms,  that  I can  see  no  necessity  what- 
ever for  any  collision  between  your  citizens  and  the  Cherokees, 
as  I am  making  every  effort  in  my  power  to  accomplish  such 
arrangements  as  may  relieve  Georgia,  in  obtaining  the  utmost 
extent  of  her  desire  among  us,  from  the  remotest  pretext  for  em- 
ploying force.  It  is  my  wish  to  settle  all  difficulties  by  amicable 
treaty,  and  on  perfectly  reasonable  terms.  I sincerely  hope  that 
my  earnest  efforts  for  that  end  may  ultimately  prosper,  as  one 
word  of  the  Executive  is  now  enough  to  save  the  expense  and 
inevitable  danger  which  must  result  from  the  employment  of  an 
uncalled-for  army.  Should  blood  be  spilt,  therefore,  which  I 
trust  can  never  be  the  case,  the  blame  can  never  rest  on  us. 

With  regard  to  my  immediate  return  into  the  Cherokee  nation, 
I differ  with  your  Excellency,  and  am  sustained  in  my  dissent 
by  many  who  have  better  opportunities  than  either  of  us,  to  un- 
derstand any  thing  which  bears  upon  the  case.  If  I were  to 
desert  a post  assigned  me  by  the  Cherokees,  and  a line  of  duty 


538 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


prescribed  by  tbeir  understood  expectations,  they  would  be  lost 
in  wonder  and  distrust.  They  expect  me  to  superintend  their 
interests  here  at  the  seat  of  the  United  States  Government,  as 
the  source  from  which  their  weal  or  woe  must  emanate,  and  as 
the  only  source  to  which  they  can  look  for  protection,  in  case  of 
need.  They  would  be  sorry  to  see  me  among  them  while  our 
affairs  remain  thus  unsettled.  Indeed  my  appearance  among 
them,  on  the  mission  you  suggest,  would  at  this  moment  pro- 
duce inextricable  confusion,  of  which  the  consequences  might  be 
awful. 

Department  of  War,  May  23,  1838. 

Sir, — I have  the  honor  to  transmit  herewith  to  your  Excel- 
lency, a copy  of  a proposed'  arrangement  with  John  Ross  and 
other  chiefs,  and  head  men  of  the  Ohcrokee  nation,  now  in  this 
city.  Your  Excellency  will  perceive  in  these  proposals,  that  the 
Government,  while  it  seeks  to  procure  the  co-operation  of  the 
delegation,  in  the  peaceable  removal  of  the  Cherokees,  has  care- 
fully abstained  from  compromitting  the  rights  and  interests  of 
the  States  concerned  in  the  execution  of  the  treaty.  It  is  not 
supposed  that  it  will  require  so  long  a period  as  two  years  to  re- 
move the  remaining  Cherokees  to  their  new  homes  west  of  the 
Mississippi ; but  whatever  term  of  time  may  be  necessary  to 
their  comfortable  emigration,  the  Department  relies  upon  the 
generosity  of  the  States  interested  not  to  press  their  claims,  so 
long  as  they  are  satisfied  that  due  diligence  is  used  by  the  agents 
of  the  nation  to  effect  this  desirable  object  as  speedily  as  prac- 
ticable. 

Very  respectfully,  your  most  obedient  servant, 

J.  R.  Poinsett. 

To  the  Governors  of  Georgia,  Tennessee, 

Alabama  and  North  Carolina. 


Executive  Department,  MiUedgeville,  May  28,  1838. 

To  the  Hon.  Joel  R.  Poinsett  : 

Sir, — I have  had  the  honor  of  receiving  from  you  the  pro- 
posals of  the  Government  to  John  Ross,  and  instructions  to  Gen- 
eral Scott. 

The  surprise  and  regret  excited  in  myself  at  these  proceed- 
ings of  the  Government,  I am  sure  will  be  felt  by  every  citizen 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


539 


of  tlie  State.  I can  give  to  them  no  sanction  whatever.  The 
proposals  to  Ross  could  not  be  carried  into  execution  but  in 
violation  of  the  rights  of  the  State.  The  very  making  of 
them  must  prove  exceedingly  injurious  to  the  interests  of  its 
people. 

The  lands  which  are  in  the  occupancy  of  the  Indians,  are  the 
private  property  of  its  citizens,  and  the  owners  are  now  entitled 
by  the  law  to  possession.  For  the  purpose  of  preventing  all 
unnecessary  suffering  and  hardships  on  the  part  of  the  Cher- 
okees,  the  proprietors  have  been  earnestly  entreated  not  to  en- 
force their  rights  at  once,  but  to  wait  until  the  Indians  should 
be  removed  by  the  army.  They  have  been  assured  that  this 
would  be  done  by  the  President  as  soon  as  possible,  and  in  per- 
fect good  faith.  Sincere  regret  is  felt  that  the  success  of  these 
efforts  in  the  cause  of  humanity  has  been  defeated  by  the  Gov- 
ernment. As  soon  as  the  proposals  to  Ross  and  the  instruc- 
tions to  General  Scott  are  known  to  the  proprietors,  they  will  no 
longer  be  restrained  from  taking  possession  of  their  property. 
It  becomes  necessary,  therefore,  that  I should  know  whether  the 
President  intends,  in  the  instructions  to  Gen.  Scott,  to  require 
that  the  Indians  shall  be  maintained  in  their  occupancy  by  an 
armed  force,  in  opposition  to  the  rights  of  the  owners  of  the  soil. 
If  such  is  the  intention  of  the  President,  a direct  collision  be- 
tween the  authorities  of  the  State  and  the  General  Government 
must  ensue.  My  duty  will  require  that  I shall  prevent  any  in- 
terference whatever  by  the  troops  with  the  rights  of  the  State 
and  its  citizens.  I shall  not  fail  to  perform  it.  To  avoid  mis- 
understanding, permit  me  to  request  that  you  will  communicate 
to  me,  and  as  early  as  you  can  conveniently,  the  President’s 
views  upon  this  subject. 

I have  no  doubt  but  the  Indians  can  be  removed  from  the 
State,  in  the  execution  of  the  treaty  and  by  the  troops  now 
organized  and  stationed  in  the  country  with  that  avowed  purpose, 
with  more  ease  and  expedition,  and  a readier  acquiescence  on  the 
part  of  the  Indians,  than  by  any  means  in  the  power  of  this 
State.  If,  however,  the  Government  consents  that  Ross  and  his 
friends  shall  remain  two  years  longer,  the  State  will  be  obliged  to 
get  rid  of  the  evils  which  must  necessarily  arise  from  such  policy, 


540 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


by  exercising  its  own  right  of  jurisdiction,  and  remove  them  by 
the  most  efficient  means  which  it  can  command. 

Very  respectfully,  yours,  &c., 

George  It.  Gilmer. 

I wrote  to  Mr.  Dawson,  and  expressed  to  him  fully 
what  I was  doing,  and  intended  to  do.  We  were 
natives  of  the  same  part  of  the  country,  had  known 
each  other  for  a long  time,  been  intimately  associated 
together  in  various  ways,  and  were  in  constant  familiar 
correspondence. 

Milledgeville,  30 th  May,  183S. 

To  the  Hon.  William  C.  Dawson  : 

Dear  Sir, — I send  you  a letter  addressed  to  the  owners  of 
the  lands  occupied  by  the  Indians  in  the  Cherokee  country,  imme- 
diately before  they  acquired  by  law  the  right  to  take  possession. 
I confidently  believe  that  the  most  of  them  were  disposed  to  pur- 
sue the  course  recommended.  The  very  best  feeling  prevailed 
every  where.  The  alarms  and  distrust  which  had  existed  some 
time  ago  were  subsiding.  This  proceeded  in  a great  degree,  from 
the  incessant  exertions  which  had  been  used,  to  prevent  any 
violation  of  the  rights  of  the  Indians,  and  the  assurances  given  to 
the  people,  that  the  Government  would  remove  the  Indians  as 
soon  as  possible,  and  afford  every  one  protection  against  violence. 
In  Gilmer  and  Union  Counties,  where  the  Indians  are  twice  as 
numerous  as  the  whites,  the  people  were  two  weeks  ago  perfectly 
quiet,  and  travelling  was  as  safe  there  as  any  where.  But  for  a 
lingering  expectation,  that  Boss  would  be  able  to  retain  their 
country  for  them,  a great  proportion  of  the  Cherokees  would 
have  been  now  preparing  to  remove.  So  satisfied  were  the 
people,  that  no  difficulty  or  violence  would  occur  in  their  removal, 
that  they  were  indicating  a disposition  to  complain  against  the 
Government,  for  sending  so  many  troops  against  them.  No  one 
ever  felt  more  satisfaction  than  I have  done,  at  the  result  of  my 
labors  for  the  last  six  months.  No  violence  of  any  kind  had 
occurred  between  the  whites  and  Indians,  when  General  Scot  took 
the  command.  I had  suffered  great  anxiety  whilst  the  troops 
were  in  preparation.  Difficulties  seemed  to  be  over.  No  one 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


541 


who  has  not  striven  as  I have  clone  to  save  the  lives  and  prevent 
the  suffering  of  a whole  community,  can  understand  the  deep 
mortification  I felt  in  knowing  that  the  happy  result  of  all 
my  exertions  may  be  destroyed  by  the  late  proceedings  of  the 
President. 

Our  people  have  been  so  harassed  for  a long  time  by 
Indian  disturbances,  alarms,  and  wars,  that  they  will  not  bear 
it  longer  than  the  treaty  requires.  To  ask  them  to  suffer  Ross 
and  his  friends  to  remain  for  two  years  longer,  with  the  know- 
ledge that  every  citizen  of  the  Cherokee  country  has,  that  the 
Indians  would  have  been  contented  at  their  home  in  the  West 
long  before  this,  but  for  the  exertions  of  Ross,  and  his  friends 
the  white  men,  is  utterly  idle.  When  I proposed  to  the  Secre- 
tary of  War  and  John  Ross,  two  months  ago,  that  Ross  should 
remove  his  people  voluntarily  before  the  time  agreed  upon,  for  a 
large  compensation  to  he  allowed  him  by  the  Government,  I 
received  a direct  refusal  from  Ross,  and  my  letter  to  the  Secre- 
tary of  War  was  not  honored  with  an  answer.  That  the  Secre- 
tary now,  when  the  Government  has  no  power  over  the  treaty, 
except  to  enforce  it,  should  propose  to  reward  Ross  for  denoun- 
cing the  Government  as  dishonest  and  faithless,  by  possession  of 
the  lands  of  the  people  granted  to  them  by  the  State,  is  indeed 
an  act  of  dishonesty  and  faithlessness.  The  President  will  not 
be  permitted  to  sell  the  rights  of  the  people  of  Georgia,  to  buy 
votes  elsewhere.  The  people  will  prevent,  if  the  public  authori- 
ties do  not. 

If  my  health  permits,  and  the  President  determines  that  he 
will  maintain  the  Indians  in  their  occupancy  of  the  territory  of 
that  State,  I will  proceed  to  the  Cherokee  country,  and  try 
whether  the  rights  of  the  State  are  to  be  trampled  upon,  or 
violated  by  military  force.  We  have  two  thousand  men  in  the 
field  under  General  Floyd,  not  one  of  whom  will  obey  any  order 
to  set  at  defiance  the  sovereignty  of  the  State.  If  the  United 
States  troops  shall  attempt  to  resist  our  laws,  they  will  he  re- 
quired to  leave  the  State,  and  our  volunteers  withdrawn  from 
the  service.  The  requisition  through  which  they  went  into 
service  was  to  remove  the  Cherokees,  not  to  maintain  them  upon 
our  soil.  The  Government  may  yet  stop  in  its  work  of  unmixed 
mischief.  The  Indians  can  be  removed  by  the  United  States 


542 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


Government  and  the  troops  now  assembled,  with  more  ease,  and 
less  suffering,  than  by  the  State,  and  I shall  continue  to  insist 
upon  its  proceeding  to  remove  them  at  once.  If  the  President 
refuses,  the  consequences  must  be  upon  his  head. 

For  the  purpose  of  giving  you  as  much  information  as  I 
readily  can,  as  to  the  course  taken  by  the  State  and  General 
Governments,  in  removing  the  Cherokees,  I forward  to  you  the 
inclosed  copies  of  papers. 

The  requisition  of  General  Scott  for  troops  from  this  State, 
my  orders  for  raising  them,  and  the  special  commission  given  to 
the  officers,  show  that  these  troops  are  only  authorized  to  remove 
the  Indians,  and  protect  the  people. 

The  letters  to  the  owners  of  the  lands  occupied  by  the 
Indians,  to  Generals  Scott,  and  Floyd,  show  the  rights  of  the 
people,  and  at  the  same  time  the  exertions  which  have  been 
made  to  prevent  any  collision  between  them  and  the  Indians, 
the  general  state  of  peace,  and  my  confidence  that  the  Indians 
would,  with  prudence,  be  removed  without  difficulty. 

The  proclamation  of  the  13th  March,  shows  the  anxiety  with 
wffiich  I have  protected  the  rights  of  the  Indians. 

The  address  of  General  Scott  to  the  Cherokees  shows  what 
his  original  instructions  were.  He  says,  he  has  no  right  to 
grant  them  further  delay,  and  that  within  one  month,  every  man, 
woman  and  child  must  be  moving  from  the  country. 

My  letter  to  the  Secretary  of  War  and  Ross,  shows  that 
more  than  two  months  before  the  arrival  of  the  time  for  the  re- 
moval of  the  Indians,  hy  force,  I proposed  that  Ross  should  re- 
move them  voluntarily.  Ross’s  answer  shows  for  itself.  None 
was  received  from  Mr.  Poinsett. 

I send  you  the  late  instructions  to  General  Scott,  which 
show  that  the  President  is  proceeding,  without  the  consent  of 
the  State  or  Congress,  to  stop  the  removal  of  the  Indians  by  the 
troops,  and  to  rely  upon  contracts  with  Ross’s  friends,  and  the 
intention  of  the  President  to  make  the  owners  of  the  lands  in 
this  State  dependent  upon  General  Scott  for  possession. 

In  my  letter  of  the  30th  of  November,  I requested  Mr. 
Poinsett  to  put  an  end  to  his  correspondence  with  Ross.  In  his 
reply  of  the  9th  of  December,  he  says  it  was  continued  with  the 
hope  of  inducing  Ross  to  aid  in  the  peaceable  removal  of  the 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


513 


Indians  ; but  when  be  was  satisfied  that  this  could  not  be  done, 
be  would  inform  me  of  it.  In  bis  letter  of  the  10th  December 
he  writes,  that  in  conformity  with  that  promise,  his  correspond- 
ence with  Ross  was  at  an  end. 

Several  communications  have  been  received  this  morning 
from  the  Cherokee  country. 

A state  of  quiet  prevails  every  where.  I send  you  an  ex- 
tract from  Dr.  Hamilton’s  letter.  I cannot  but  hope  that  the 
friends  of  humanity  will  induce  the  Government  to  retrace  its 
steps. 

Yours,  &c., 

George  R.  Gilmer. 


Executive  Department,  Milledgeville,  30 th  May , 1838. 

■ ..  Sir, — I inclose  to  you  my  answer  to  the  letter  of  the  Secre- 
tary of  War,  upon  the  subject  of  his  proposals  to  John  Ross, 
and  late  instructions  to  Gen.  Scott. 

All  here  concur  in  the  opinion  that  these  proceedings  of  the 
Government  are  a violation  of  the  rights  of  the  State,  and  calcu- 
lated to  produce  the  most  extensive  evils  to  the  Cherokee  coun- 
try. 

Permit  me  to  request  that  the  delegation  in  Congress  from 
this  State,  will  unite  in  ascertaining  from  the  President  whether 
it  is  his  intention  to  continue  the  present  delay  in  removing  the 
Cherokees  by  the  troops  under  Gen.  Scott,  for  the  purpose  of 
effecting  that  object  by  contracts  to  be  made  with  the  agents  of 
Ross  and  his  friends,  or  for  any  other  purpose  ? and  whether  it 
is  his  intention  to  maintain  the  Indians  by  force  upon  the  soil  of 
Georgia,  in  opposition  to  the  will  of  the  State  and  the  rights  of 
its  citizens,  to  whom  the  lands  have  been  granted  ? And  that 
you  communicate  to  me  his  determination. 

Very  respectfully,  yours,  &c., 

George  R.  Gilmer. 

To  the  Georgia  Delegation. 

After  I had  written  to  Mr.  Dawson,  it  occurred  to 
me  that  the  communication  of  the  Secretary  of  War 
was  sufficiently  important  to  call  the  attention  of  the 
whole  delegation  to  it.  The  foregoing  letter  was  ac- 


544 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


cordingly  written.  The  members  who  were  the  special 
friends  of  Mr.  Van  Buren,  seized  upon  the  fact  that  the 
letter  to  Mr.  Dawson  was  received  by  him  before  they 
received  the  communication  addressed  to  them,  to  write 
me  the  following  singular  epistle.  Its  matter  indicates 
how  much  the  public  service  was  then  obstructed  by 
selfish  party  politics,  and  the  many  difficulties  which  I 
had  to  overcome  for  securing  success  in  such  times  when 
operating  together  with  such  men. 

Washington,  15 th  June,  1838. 

Sir, — We  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  your 
letter  dated  the  30th  of  May  ultimo,  inclosing  a copy  of  yours 
to  the  Secretary  of  War,  of  the  28 th  of  the  same  month , re- 
questing the  delegation  to  call  on  the  President  of  the  United 
States,  and  ascertain  his  intentions  in  relation  to  the  execution 
of  the  Cherokee  treaty. 

Some  short  time  before  your  letter  was  received,  we  had 
heard  as  a report,  that  a communication,  having  reference  to  the 
Cherokee  treaty,  had  been  transmitted  by  you  to  one  of  the  de- 
legation. What  the  real  character  or  object  of  that  communi- 
cation ivas,  we  had  no  means  of  ascertaining,  not  having  had  an 
opportunity  of  reading,  or  hearing  it  read. 

When  your  letter  of  the  30th  of  May  was  received,  and 
which  reached  us  two  days  after  that  addressed  by  you  to  the 
delegate  before  alluded  to,  you  may  readily  suppose  it  created 
some  surprise,  if  no  astonishment.  If  a combined  effort  of  the 
delegation  was  desirable,  it  was  to  have  been  presumed  the  com- 
munications would  have  been  simultaneous.  That  the  views  of 
the  Executive  of  Georgia,  upon  a most  delicate  and  exciting  sub- 
ject, should  have  been  made  known  to  one  alone  of  the  delega- 
tion, whilst  the  others  were  kept  in  ignorance,  and  to  remain  so 
until  it  suited  him  who  was  informed  to  make  them  known,  or 
await  the  tardy  communication  afterwards  received,  was  a sub- 
ject not  only  of  regret,  but  of  mortification.  Why  your  Excel- 
lency adopted  this  mode  of  procedure,  unless  in  conformity  with 
the  practice  pursued  in  relation  to  the  agent  you  wished  some 
months  hack  to  send  into  the  Cherokee  country,  and  in  reference 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


545 


to  whose  appointment  you  corresponded  with  the  Secretary  at 
War  and  a few  selected  individuals  of  the  delegation,  leaving 
the  greater  portion  of  the  members  totally  unapprised  of  the  in- 
tentions of  the  Executive,  in  regard  to  a measure  in  the  opinion 
of  the  majority,  if  not  all  of  the  delegation,  of  more  than  ques- 
tionable expediency. 

These  acts,  to  say  the  least  of  them,  are  not  very  courteous  ; 
this  distinction  made  among  members  of  the  same  delegation, 
and  that  on  a subject  of  vital  importance  to  the  State,  and  in 
which  all  are  equally  interested,  would  nevertheless  not  have  pre- 
vented us  from  complying  with  your  request.  But  on  the  sub- 
ject of  the  Cherokee  treaty,  and  the  policy  to  he  pursued,  we 
never  entertained  but  one  opinion  ; to  be  quiescent ; to  do  no- 
thing ; to  consider  the  treaty  as  a settled  question ; as  the  su- 
preme law  of  the  land,  that  must  he  executed  according  to  its 
spirit  and  letter. 

Our  action,  both  in  our  legislative  and  private  capacity,  has 
squared  with  this  our  deliberate  opinion.  W e have  always  moved, 
and  generally  succeeded  in  laying  on  the  table,  every  memo- 
rial presented  having  for  its  object  the  abrogation  or  modifica- 
tion of  the  treaty  ; and  in  all  our  private  interviews  with  the 
members  of  the  administration,  we  have  uniformly  made  known 
as  our  deliberate  conviction,  that  the  only  true  policy  to  be  exer- 
cised towards  John  Ross  and  his  friends,  in  or  out  of  the  House, 
was  to  inform  them  distinctly  and  sternly,  that  now  the  Execu- 
tive of  the  United  States  had  no  discretion  on  the  subject ; that 
the  treaty  must  be  executed  ; that  it  was  required  not  only  in  re- 
ference to  the  welfare  and  true  interest  of  the  Indians  them- 
selves, but  to  the  people  of  Georgia,  to  prevent  delusion  on  the 
one  side,  and  to  allay  the  excitement  of  the  passions  on  the  other, 
on  a subject  which  for  more  than  20  years  has  been  used  as  a 
weapon  for  party  warfare,  regardless  both  of  the  interest  of  the 
State  and  the  stability  and  permanency  of  the  Union  itself. 

Under  the  operation  of  these  feelings,  and  entertaining  the 
sentiments  herein  expressed,  it  was  with  no  little  surprise  and 
regret  we  heard  the  late  message  of  the  President  of  the  United 
States  read  in  the  House  of  Representatives.  No  previous  com- 
munication or  intimation  was  given  to  us  that  such  a document 
was  to  be  sent.  If  others  were  in  the  secret , we  were  not  of  the 
35 


546 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


number.  As  soon  as  the  document  was  received,  one  of  the 
undersigned  called  for  its  reading.  It  produced  great  excite- 
ment in  the  House.  The  contents  of  it  were  of  so  extraordinary 
a character,  and  so  well  calculated,  in  our  opinion,  to  do  great 
mischief,  and  without  the  slightest  probability  of  producing 
beneficial  results,  that  we  instantly  determined  to  pursue  a bold 
and  decisive  but  perhaps  unparliamentary  course,  and  moved  to 
lay  the  message  of  the  President  on  the  table,  and  by  that  means 
prevent  any  action  of  the  House  upon  it ; the  result  of  which 
motion  your  Excellency  has  no  doubt  seen  in  the  public  prints. 

The  undersigned  having  had  no  agency,  either  in  word  or 
deed,  by  private  verbal  consultation  or  written  communication, 
with  the  President,  or  Heads  of  Department,  or  John  Ross,  or 
any  of  his  friends,  on  the  subject  of  the  message,  and  having 
upon  all  occasions  refused  to  enter  upon  a subject  having  refer- 
ence to  a modification  of  the  treaty,  so  far  as  delay  in  the  re- 
moval of  the  Indians  was  involved,  though  at  all  times  disposed 
to  give  every  facility  to  such  removal,  have,  since  the  presenta- 
tion of  the  message,  deemed  it  the  most  prudent  and  politic 
course,  and  one  calculated  to  serve  the  best  interest  of  the  State, 
to  abstain  from  all  communication  with  the  Executive  of  the 
United  States  or  the  War  Department  on  the  subject;  looking 
with  a steady  eye  to  the  terms  of  the  treaty,  and  insisting  with 
a stern  determination  on  its  faithful  execution.  Leaving  to  those 
to  call  for  explanations  who  here  or  elsewhere , as  rumor  says, 
were  playing  the  part  of  diplomatists  on  this  “ untoward  ” affair. 
To  him  who,  more  particularly  it  is  said,  made  a proposition  to 
John  Ross  to  have  a supplemental  article  incorporated  in  the 
treaty,  extending  the  time  for  removal , provided  the  Indians 
went  beyond  the  limits  of  Georgia,  thereby  leaving  the  inhabi- 
tants of  our  border  exposed  to  their  predatory  incursions  of  savage 
warfare,  and  at  a time  when  their  passions  were  most  inflamed ; 
or,  to  him  also,  who,  it  is  said,  was  consulted  by  the  Department, 
and  assisted  in  concocting  the  propositions  submitted  to  John 
Ross,  and  presented  to  the  House  with  the  message  of  the 
President  of  the  United  States  ; and  who,  if  he  did  not  approve, 
certainly  did  not  oppose  them,  or  give  notice  to  any  of  his  col- 
leagues that  such  a subject  of  negotiation  was  going  on. 

As  these  gentlemen  seem  to  have  been  desirous  of  claiming 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


547 


all  the  merit  of  these  diplomatic  arrangements,  justice  requires 
they  should  now  assume  all  the  responsibility,  and  if  their  politi- 
cal bed  be  a bed  of  torture,  they  have  made  it  for  themselves  ; 
we  shall  not  interrupt  their  repose.  This  little  incident  will 
be  of  service  to  them  hereafter  ; experience  purchased,  provided 
it  is  not  at  too  high  a price,  is  said  to  be  most  valuable.  The 
gentlemen  will  now  see  and  feel  the  force  of  the  poet’s  observa- 
tion, “ that  to  he  too  busy  there  is  some  danger.” 

In  the  foregoing  reasons,  combined  with  the  belief  that  your 
letter  was  uncalled  for,  the  views  of  the  Government,  since  the 
message,  as  well  as  before,  having  been  distinctly  stated  in  their 
instructions  to  the  commanding  general,  as  well  as  the  procla- 
mation of  the  same  officer,  that  the  removal  of  the  Indians  roas 
not  to  he  delayed  one  hour , hut  with  the  assent  of  the  States 
interested  ; together  with  the  opinion  of  every  reflecting  man,  in  or 
out  of  Congress,  of  the  imperious  political  necessity  of  the  full  and 
speedy  execution  of  the  treaty,  which  opinion  has  been  confirmed 
by  the  almost  unanimous  action  of  both  Houses  of  Congress,  in 
the  appropriation  bill  to  carry  it  into  effect ; your  Excellency, 
we  are  induced  to  believe,  will  see  not  only  a propriety,  but 
justification,  in  our  not  joining  in  the  communication  to  the 
Secretary  of  War,  according  to  your  request. 

We  remain  your  obedient  servants, 

(Signed)  George  W.  Owens, 
Jesse  F.  Cleveland, 
George  W.  Towns. 

His  Excellency  George  R.  Gilmer, 

Governor  of  Georgia. 


When  I received  information  of  the  measure  adopt- 
ed by  Mr.  Van  Buren,  for  avoiding  the  unpopularity 
of  removing  the  Cherokees,  I immediately  addressed 
the  following  letter  to  the  citizens  of  the  State  who 
resided  among  the  Cherokees.  The  strong  desire  of 
the  owners  of  the  land  occupied  by  the  Indians,  to  get 
possession,  each  one  of  his  own  tract  (the  Indian  land 
having  been  already  distributed  among  the  people  by 
lottery),  and  the  unrestrained  temper  of  the  frontier 


548 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


people,  excited  fears  lest  there  should  be  an  outbreak 
among  them  when  they  were  informed  of  the  conduct 
of  Mr.  Van  Buren.  How  far  this  letter  contributed  to 
quiet  their  restlessness  I had  no  means  of  knowing. 


To  the  Citizens  of  the  Cherokee  Counties : 

Before  this  reaches  you,  the  newspapers  will  have  conveyed 
to  you  the  information  that  the  President  of  the  United  States 
has  instructed  Gen.  Scott  to  stop  his  preparations  for  removing 
the  Indians  from  among  you,  by  the  army,  on  account  of  the 
proposals  which  he  has  made  to  John  Ross,  that  the  Indians 
shall  be  permitted  to  remain  upon  your  lands,  for  two  years 
longer,  and  remove  themselves. 

The  President,  in  thus  changing  the  measures  which  had 
been  previously  adopted,  and  which,  it  is  confidently  believed, 
would  have  effected  the  immediate  and  peaceable  removal  of  the 
Cherokees,  against  the  will  of  the  people,  and  without  consulting 
with  the  authorities  of  the  State,  has  forgotten  what  was  due  to 
Georgia,  your  rights,  and  peculiar  and  important  interests.  Do 
not  be  alarmed.  The  President  cannot  alter  the  treaty  with  the 
Cherokees,  without  the  consent  of  the  State.  He  has  already 
been  informed,  that  his  proposals  to  Ross will  not  be  sanctioned, 
and  that  the  instructions  to  Gen.  Scott  are  inconsistent  with  the 
sovereignty  of  the  State. 

Means  have  been  taken  to  induce  the  President  to  withdraw 
the  proposals  to  Ross,  and  to  give  instructions  to  Gen.  Scott,  to 
proceed  under  his  original  orders,  to  remove  the  Indians,  by  the 
troops  under  his  command.  If,  contrary  to  our  expectations,  the 
President  shall  persist  in  his  present  course,  be  not  alarmed. 
Your  Chief  Magistrate,  aided  by  the  power  of  a united  people, 
will  not  fail  to  defend  your  rights. 

Whether  the  conduct  of  the  President  shall  bring  upon  us 
most  disastrous  consequences,  or  pass  away  as  harmless  as  it 
has  been  faithless,  will  depend  much  upon  yourselves.  Let  me, 
therefore,  entreat  you,  to  make  no  movement  which  may  bring 
you  in  collision  with  your  Indian  neighbors.  Let  no  alarm  for 
your  rights,  or  feelings  of  indignation  at  the  conduct  of  the  Presi- 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


549 


dent  lead  you  into  acts  of  violence.  Wait  until  the  authorities 
of  your  State  can  secure  your  disregarded  interests.  Do  not,  in 
the  spirit  of  resentment,  for  the  violated  pledge  of  the  President, 
do  wrong  to  an  ignorant,  dependent  and  savage  people.  Treat 
them  with  kindness,  and  you  disarm  the  power  of  the  Govern- 
ment which  threatens  you. 

Be  not  alarmed  lest  the  federal  troops  shall  trample 
upon  your  rights.  The  commanding  general  of  the  Cherokee 
army  is  a gallant  soldier,  whose  fame  is  identified  with  the  honor 
of  his  country,  and  the  advancement  of  the  people’s  prosperity. 
He  will  aid  your  cause,  in  giving  a patriot’s  advice  to  the  coun- 
cils of  the  President,  and  if  he  shall  be  ordered  to  do  you  injustice, 
his  arm  will  be  rendered  nerveless. 

Be  not  alarmed.  You  have  as  true  a soldier  as  ever  defend- 
ed his  country,  in  the  command  of  our  own  spirited  Georgia 
troops,  not  one  of  whom  but  will  stand  by  you  and  your  country 
in  the  time  of  need.  Be  hut  true  to  yourselves,  in  being  just 
and  humane  to  your  Indian  neighbors,  and  you  have  nothing  to 
fear.  The  friends  of  humanity,  who  know  the  true  state  of  the 
Cherokees — the  ruin  and  degradation  which  has  been  brought 
upon  the  unmixed  Indians  by  their  present  situation — do  not 
doubt  but  that  it  is  their  interest  to  remove  to  the  country  pro- 
vided for  them  in  the  West.  Do  not  strengthen  the  calumnies 
against  your  country  and  its  statesmen,  by  acts  of  oppression  to 
the  Indians. 

They  are  ignorant  and  revengeful : pity  them.  Do  not  make 
them,  in  their  blindness,  responsible  for  the  acts  of  those  who  are 
using  them  for  their  ambitious  and  mercenary  purposes. 

The  abandonment  of  your  cause  by  the  President,  to  pur- 
chase the  good  opinions  of  those  who  are  weeping  over  imaginary 
Indian  wrongs,  has  made  you  the  objects  of  attention  to  the 
whole  country. 

Your  character,  the  character  of  your  State,  and  the  united 
wishes  of  your  friends,  urge  upon  you  not  to  interfere  with  the 
Indians  in  the  spirit  of  unkindness.  Leave  their  removal  from 
the  State  to  the  United  States  Government,  if  it  will,  or  to  your 
own  Government,  if  it  must. 

(Signed)  George  B.  Gilmer. 


550 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


A requisition  for  four  thousand  men  was  made  by 
the  Secretary  of  War,  upon  the  Governors  of  Georgia, 
Tennessee,  Alabama,  and  North  Carolina.  Twenty 
companies  were  called  for  from  Georgia.  No  call  was 
made  upon  me  for  an  officer  of  the  proper  grade  to 
command  them— Mr.  A7an  Buren  intending  that  they 
should  be  under  one  of  his  own  selection.  Indeed, 
that  this  was  his  design,  was  not  denied,  when  I wrote 
to  General  Scott  (who  was  to  command  the  whole), 
and  asserted  the  right  to  place  the  troops  of  the  State 
under  a Georgia  general,  selected  by  myself.  I gave 
the  command  to  General  Charles  Floyd. 

Immediately  after,  I was  notified  of  the  demand  for 
troops  by  the  War  Department.  Orders  were  sent  by 
express  to  the  militia  officers  of  the  counties  nearest  to 
the  Cherokee  country,  urging  the  immediate  raising  of 
the  required  number,  and  that  they  should  march 
without  delay  to  New  Ecliota — tlie  appointed  place  of 
rendezvous — to  be  organized  into  appropriate  corps. 
The  spirit  of  the  orders,  and  the  directions  given  to 
the  persons  who  carried  them,  induced  the  readiest 
compliance  on  the  part  of  the  officers  to  whom  they 
were  directed.  The  twenty  companies  were  all  at 
New  Echota  before  the  day  arrived  when  the  Chero- 
kees  were,  according  to  the  treaty,  to  leave  Georgia, 
and  before  a beginning  had  been  made  in  the  other 
States  to  comply  with  the  requisition.  General  Floyd 
showed  his  fitness  for  command  by  his  prompt  obedi- 
ence. lie  was  at  the  place  of  rendezvous  at  the  ap- 
pointed time,  though  the  distance  was  so  great,  and  the 
time  so  short,  that  it  seemed  impossible.  A very 
trivial  incident  had  the  most  fortunate  influence  in 
effecting  the  desired  result.  Col.  Augustus  Ivennan, 
of  Milledgeville,  whose  daring,  fearless  temper  made 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


551 


him  ever  ready  for  any  active  enterprise,  was  favorably 
known  to  General  Scott.  Colonel  Kennan  applied  to 
me  for  a military  aidship,  to  assist  him  in  an  appli- 
cation, wdiich  he  wished  to  make  to  General  Scott,  for 
the  same  rank  in  his  military  family.  His  request  was 
complied  with.  He  joined  General  Scott  by  the  time 
the  troops  were  organized ; and  by  the  manner  in 
w'hicli  he  urged  the  matter  upon  General  Scott,  con- 
tributed essentially  in  inducing  that  officer  to  disregard 
the  unofficial  information  which  he  had  received,  that 
Mr.  Van  Buren  was  scheming  to  delay  the  removal  of 
the  Cherokees. 

General  Floyd,  the  Georgia  officers  and  men,  col- 
lected the  Indians  together  at  once  from  their  towns, 
and  placed  them  in  the  fortified  positions,  which  had 
been  previously  provided  for  the  emergency  by  Colonel 
Lindsay,  at  my  request.  The  Indians  went  into  the 
forts  without  resistance,  from  the  assurance  given  them 
by  their  chiefs  at  Washington  City,  that  the  treaty 
which  required  them  to  leave  the  country  would  be  set 
aside,  or  so  modified  that  they  would  be  at  liberty  to 
continue  where  they  were. 

As  soon  as  the  Indians  were  under  the  control  of 
the  troops,  Colonel  Kennan  came  express  to  Milledge- 
ville,  to  let  me  know  it.  I communicated  the  informa- 
tion to  the  President  by  express.  The  news  reached 
Washington  City  whilst  Congress  was  discussing  the 
proposals  of  the  Cherokee  Chiefs,  and  the  President 
and  the  Chiefs  were  negotiating  the  terms  of  a new 
treaty.  Mr.  Van  Buren’s  schemes  were  blown  sky- 
high.  Nothing  could  be  said  about  further  delay. 
The  dreaded  difficulty  in  control] ing  the  Cherokees 
had  been  met  and  overcome.  All  concurred  at  once 
in  the  propriety  of  carrying  on  what  had  been  begun 


552 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


so  successfully.  I had  the  very  great  pleasure  of  say- 
ing to  the  Legislature  when  assembled : — 


Fellow-citizens  of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives, 

I congratulate  you  upon  the  successful  removal  of  the 
Cherokees  from  the  State ; — that  you  will  no  longer  be  ha- 
rassed in  your  legislative  proceedings,  by  the  perplexing 
relations  which  have  hitherto  existed  between  them,  the  United 
States,  and  Georgia ; — that  our  citizens  are  at  last  in  the 
quiet  possession  of  all  their  lands,  and  the  State  the  undis- 
puted sovereign  over  all  her  territory. 

I felt  that  it  was  something  to  have  overcome,  by 
directness  of  purpose,  and  the  means  at  my  command, 
the  power  and  subtilty  of  Mr.  Van  Buren  and  John 
Ross,  and  to  have  secured  to  the  State  and  the  people 
the  great  good  which  has  followed  what  was  done. 

No  one  out  of  Georgia  seemed  to  know  how  much 
the  people  had  suffered  from  the  plunderings  and  bar- 
barities of  the  Indians ; that  the  State  had  been  obliged 
to  sell  to  the  United  States  more  than  half  of  its  terri- 
tory, to  procure  the  extinguishment  of  the  Indian  title 
to  the  remainder;  that  the  United  States  had  made  no 
effort  to  execute  that  contract,  except  at  the  earnest 
entreaties  of  the  Representatives  of  Georgia ; that  the 
first  movement  of  the  Cherokees  to  the  west  of  the 
Mississippi  had  been  of  their  own  accord ; that,  when 
General  Jackson  and  General  Meriwether,  a Georgian 
and  Tennesseean,  made  a treaty  with  the  Cherokees, 
by  which  the  whole  tribe  would  have  removed  beyond 
the  Mississippi,  the  Secretary  of  War  had  altered  its 
terms  by  another,  by  which  he  attempted  to  fix  the 
Indians  upon  the  territory  of  Georgia,  by  ceding  to  the 
chiefs  the  fee-simple  title  to  the  soil. 

Nobody  now  doubts  that  the  immediate  contact, 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


553 


and  constant  intercourse  with  the  vicious  white  popula- 
tion among  them,  and  around  them,  made  it  absolute- 
ly necessary,  for  the  preservation  of  all  the  unmixed 
Indians,  that  their  location  should  be  changed,  and 
that  their  removal  from  Georgia  to  the  west  of  the 
Mississippi  has  been  for  their  advantage. 

The  Cherokee  country,  instead  of  being  wandered 
over  by  listless,  objectless,  ignorant  savages,  whose 
only  satisfying  employments  were  destroying  the 
beasts  of  the  forest  and  their  fellow-men,  and  being  the 
receptacle  of  the  lawless  from  every  where,  is  now  cul- 
tivated by  a population  rapidly  advancing  in  all  the 
arts  of  civilized  life.  Fine  houses,  valuable  farms, 
beautiful  meadows,  schools,  colleges,  churches,  and 
railroads,  have  taken  the  places  of  wigwams  and  scalp- 
poles.  And  yet  every  public  man  who  was  employed 
in  bringing  about  this  admirable  change  for  the  better, 
was  for  a time  the  target  for  shooting  defamation  at, 
by  every  intermeddling  politician,  from  the  lowest 
scribbler,  to  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States. 

Those  who  are  disposed  to  yield  to  authority  and 
the  opinions  of  the  wise  and  experienced,  may  be  in- 
duced to  acknowledge  the  completeness  of  this  justifi- 
cation of  Georgia  and  its  Governor  for  removing  the 
Cherokees  from  the  State,  which  I have  presented  to 
them,  by  what  Gen.  Jackson  and  President  Adams  have 
said  upon  the  subject. 

“ W e have  been  far  more  successful  in  the  acquisition  of  their 
lands  than  imparting  to  them  the  principles,  or  inspiring  them 
with  the  spirit  of  civilization.  But  in  appropriating  to  ourselves 
their  hunting  grounds,  we  have  brought  upon  ourselves  the  obli- 
gation of  providing  them  with  subsistence,  and  when  we  have 
had  the  rare  good  fortune  of  teaching  them  the  arts  of  civiliza- 
tion and  the  doctrines  of  Christianity,  we  have  unexpectedly 


554 


FIBST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


found  them  forming,  in  the  midst  of  ourselves,  communities  claim- 
ing to  he  independent  of  ours,  and  rivals  of  sovereignty  within 
the  territories  of  the  members  of  our  Union.  This  state  of 
things  requires  that  a remedy  should  he  'provided.  A remedy 
which,  while  it  shall  do  justice  to  those  unfortunate  children  of 
nature,  may  secure  to  the  members  of  our  confederation  their 
rights  of  sovereignty  and  soil.  As  the  outline  of  a project  to 
that  effect,  the  views  presented  in  the  Report  of  the  Secretary 
of  W ar  are  recommended  to  the  consideration  of  Congress .” 

Extracts  from  the  project  recommended  by  Mr.  Adams  in 
his  Message. 

Nothing  can  he  more  clear  to  one  who  has  marked  the  pro- 
gress of  population  and  improvement,  and  is  conversant  with  the 
principles  of  human  action,  than  that  these  Indians  will  not  be 
permitted  to  hold  the  reservations  on  which  they  live  within  the 
States,  by  their  present  tenure,  for  any  considerable  period.  If, 
indeed,  they  were  not  disturbed  in  their  possessions  by  us,  it 
would  be  impossible  for  them  long  to  subsist,  as  they  have  here- 
tofore done,  by  the  chase,  as  their  game  is  already  so  much  di- 
minished, as  to  render  it  frequently  necessary  to  furnish  them 
with  provisions,  in  order  to  save  them  from  starvation.  In  their 
present  destitute  and  deplorable  condition,  and  which  is  constant- 
ly growing  more  helpless,  it  would  seem  to  be  not  only  the  right, 
but  the  duty  of  the  government  to  take  them  under  its  paternal 
care  ; and  to  exercise  over  their  persons  and  property,  the  salu- 
tary rights  and  duties  of  guardianship. 

Towards  this  race  of  people,  I entertain  the  kindest  feelings  ; 
and  am  not  sensible  that  the  views  which  I have  taken  of  their 
true  interests  are  less  favorable  to  them,  than  those  which  op- 
pose their  emigration  to  the  West.  Years  since,  I stated  to  them 
my  belief,  that  if  the  States  chose  to  extend  their  laws  over  them, 
it  would  not  be  in  the  power  of  the  Federal  Government  to  pre- 
vent it.  My  opinion  remains  the  same  ; and  I can  see  no  alter- 
native for  them,  but  that  of  their  removal  to  the  West,  or  a quiet 
submission  to  the  State  laws.  If  they  prefer  to  remove,  the 
United  States  agree  to  defray  their  expenses,  to  supply  them  the 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


555 


means  of  transportation,  and  a year’s  support  after  they  reach 
their  new  homes — a provision  too  liberal  and  kind  to  deserve  the 
stamp  of  injustice.  Either  course  promises  them  peace  and  hap- 
piness, whilst  an  obstinate  perseverance  in  the  effort  to  maintain 
their  possessions  independent  of  the  State  authority,  cannot  fail 
to  render  their  condition  still  more  helpless  and  miserable. 
Such  an  effort  ought,  therefore,  to  he  discountenanced  by  all  who 
sincerely  sympathize  in  the  fortunes  of  this  peculiar  people,  and 
especially  by  the  political  bodies  of  the  Union,  as  calculated  to 
disturb  the  harmony  of  the  two  Governments,  and  to  endanger 
the  safety  of  the  many  blessings  which  they  enable  us  to  enjoy. 

As  connected  with  the  subject  of  this  inquiry,  I beg  leave  to 
refer  to  the  accompanying  letter  from  the  Secretary  of  War,  in- 
closing the  order  which  proceeded  from  that  Department,  and  a 
letter  from  the  Governor  of  Georgia. 

Andrew  Jackson. 

The  Cherokees  were  but  just  removed  from  Geor- 
gia, when  the  people  of  the  south-eastern  frontier  of 
the  State  were  put  into  the  greatest  alarm,  by  the  pre- 
sence of  hostile  Indians.  Some  of  the  Creeks  had 
united  with  their  kinsfolk  in  Florida,  when  the  mass 
of  the  tribe  removed  to  the  west  of  the  Mississippi  in 
1836.  A band  of  warriors  made  a lodgment  in  the 
Okefinokee  swamp,  with  the  intention  it  was  supposed 
of  harassing  the  inhabitants  of  the  neighborhood,  by 
forays  from  that  fastness,  then  supposed  to  be  inacces- 
sible to  our  troops. 

The  militia  companies  called  into  the  public  service, 
for  the  defence  of  the  people,  when  marching  in  search 
of  the  enemy,  came  upon  a few  Indians  around  their 
camp-fire,  and  seeing  them  start  up  and  cry  woo-ah,  took 
to  their  heels,  and  increased  the  terror  of  those  whom 
they  were  sent  to  protect. 

Gen.  Taylor,  since  then  President  of  the  United 
States,  and  Gen.  Floyd,  then  lately  returned  from  his 


556 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


successful  removal  of  the  Cherokees,  marched  to  the 
defence  of  the  alarmed  inhabitants.  They  found  many 
difficulties  in  the  way  of  operating  against  the  Indians 
successfully. 

I wrote  to  Gen.  Taylor, — “ The  distance  of  the 
Okefinokee  swamp  from  the  seat  of  Government, — 
the  difficulty  of  obtaining  correct  information  as  to  the 
number  of  Indians, — the  extent  of  the  danger  to  be 
apprehended  from  them, — the  want  of  the  knowledge 
of  the  force  which  may  be  necessary,  and  how  to  em- 
ploy it,  to  protect  the  people,  &c.,  &c.,  have  occasioned 
much  embarrassment  to  this  Department,”  and  request- 
ed him  to  direct  what  his  experience  might  find  to  be 
necessary. 

Gen.  Floyd  passed  through  the  Okefinokee  swamp 
with  a detachment  from  his  command.  He  found  about 
the  centre  of  the  Island,  so  long  celebrated  among  the 
Indians  for  its  romantic  scenery,  and  the  beauty  of  its 
inhabitants,  Indian  huts,  but  the  occupants,  the  beauti- 
ful beings  of  romance,  were  gone. 

The  following  correspondence  will  show  the  success 
which  attended  the  means  used  for  driving  away  hos- 
tile Indians  from  the  southern  frontiers  of  the  State. 

Head-  Quarters,  Army  of  the  South. 

Camp  Gilmer,  Suwannee  River, 

(Hear  tlie  mouth  of  the  Suwanouehee,  Ware  County,  Georgia,) 

April  nth,  1838. 

To  his  Excellency  the  Governor  of  Georgia: 

Sir, — I have  received  from  the  Secretary  of  War,  under 
date  16th  of  June,  a copy  of  a letter,  inclosing  documents  trans- 
mitted by  your  Excellency  to  that  Department,  concerning  dis- 
turbances around  the  Okefinokee  swamp. 

In  relation  thereto,  I have  the  honor  to  inform  you  that  I 
reached  this  on  the  9tli  inst.,  and  am  now  here  with  two  com- 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


557 


panies  of  infantry  and  one  of  dragoons,  the  latter  of  "which,  with 
one  of  the  infantry  companies,  will  continue  to  occupy  this  posi- 
tion. One  company  of  infantry  will  be  located  at  some  suitable 
point  intermediate  between  this  and  Trader’s  Hill,  on  the  St. 
Mary’s  River.  A company  of  dragoons  is  now  on  the  march 
for  the  vicinity  of  Waresborough,  where  it  will  take  a position  to 
protect  that  neighborhood.  A company  of  militia  is  also  em- 
ployed to  act  as  guides  and  spies  for  the  troops  operating  in  this 
quarter. 

I flatter  myself  that  this  force  will  be  sufficient  for  the  de- 
fence of  the  region  around  the  swamp,  by  confining  the  Indians 
to  it,  or  cutting  them  up,  should  they  attemjit  to  leave  it,  as 
there  will  be  reconnoitering  and  scouting  parties  constantly  in 
motion.  But  should  it  prove  otherwise,  Maj.  Dearborn,  who 
locates  the  company  of  dragoons  near  Waresborough,  is  em- 
powered to  muster  into  the  service  such  an  additional  militia 
force  as  may  at  any  time  be  required. 

From  the  best  information  I can  obtain,  I am  induced  to  be- 
lieve that  there  are  not  exceeding  fifty  warriors  in  the  Okefi- 
nokee,  which  are  believed  to  be  refugee  Creeks,  of  the  tribes  em- 
igrated from  Georgia  and  Alabama. 

Col.  Twiggs,  who  was  commanding  at  Black  Creek,  and  on 
this  side  the  peninsula,  previous  to  my  crossing  from  Tampa 
Bay,  ordered  a company  of  dragoons,  a short  time  since,  to  the 
swamp,  in  the  vicinity  of  this  place,  but  as  neither  forage  nor 
provisions  could  be  obtained  there,  it  was  compelled  to  fall  back. 

An  officer  of  the  Quartermaster’s  Department  is  now  ordered 
to  Trader’s  Hill,  to  make  such  arrangements  as  will  insure 
supplies  to  the  posts  now  or  about  to  be  established,  as  well  as 
to  any  other  troops  that  may  be  called  into  the  service. 

The  dispositions  above  having  been  completed,  I shall  return 
through  East  Florida  to  Tampa  Bay,  where  I shall  be  happy  to 
receive  any  communications  you  may  think  proper  to  address 
to  me. 

With  the  highest  respect,  I am 

Your  Excellency’s  most  obedient  servant, 

Z.  Taylor, 

Bt.  Br.  Gen.  U.  S.  Army  commanding. 

To  his  Excellency  Geo.  R.  Gilmer, 

Governor  of  Georgia. 


558 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


Executive  Department,  Ga.,  Milledgeville,  *Uli  August,  1838. 
To  Major  E.  Hopkins  : 

Sir, — I have  received  your  letter  of  the  1st  inst.,  giving  an 
account  of  the  great  alarm  of  the  people  of  Camden,  on  account 
of  the  murders  lately  committed  by  the  Indians  in  Ware  Coun- 
ty, and  asking  my  advice  what  you  are  to  do. 

It  is  a great  misfortune  to  the  people  to  be  exposed  to  the 
attacks  of  these  merciless  savages.  It  is  difficult  to  perceive, 
however,  in  what  manner  this  Government  can  secure  each 
family  from  the  possibility  of  injury.  Those  who  were  mur- 
dered in  Ware  County,  were  under  the  almost  immediate  pro- 
tection of  a company  of  the  United  States  troops.  The  arrange- 
ments made  for  the  protection  of  the  people  of  Ware  and  Cam- 
den. are  from  Gen.  Taylor,  a most  excellent  officer,  and  upon  his 
own  personal  examination  of  the  country,  and  approved  by  Gen. 
Clinch,  both  of  whom,  from  their  military  experience  and  know- 
ledge of  the  country  and  the  Indians,  understand  this  subject 
better  than  myself.  If  the  troops  now  in  service  are  not  suffi- 
cient, the  United  States  officer  in  command  in  Ware  and  Cam- 
den, is  authorized  to  receive  any  additional  numbers  which  he 
may  think  necessary. 

I know  of  no  better  arrangement  which  can  be  made  than 
this  for  the  protection  of  the  people.  I have  already  sent  you 
two  copies  of  Gen.  Taylor’s  letter.  I now  forward  to  you  a copy 
of  Major  Dearborn’s. 

Very  respectfully,  yours.  &c., 

George  R.  Gilmer. 


Extract  of  a letter  from.  Gov.  Gilmer  to  Gen.  Taylor,  dated  August  1th,  1838. 

I send  you  the  copies  of  tivo  letters  from  Maj.  Hopkins, 
commanding  officer  of  the  militia  of  Camden  County,  and  the 
copy  of  a letter  from  Col.  Hilliard,  of  Ware  County.  You  will 
perceive  that  both  of  those  officers  are  of  opinion  that  the  em- 
ployment of  the  militia  of  these  counties  is  necessary  to  restore 
confidence  to  the  people. 

Permit  me  to  request  that  you  will  inquire  into  this  subject 
as  early  as  possible,  and  if  necessary,  or  proper,  that  you  will 
take  into  the  service  of  the  United  States  such  an  additional 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


559 


force  from  the  militia  of  Ware  and  Camden,  as  may  give  secu- 
rity to  the  inhabitants. 


Executive  Department,  Milledgeville,  1 1th  August,  183S. 

To  the  Hon.  Joel  R.  Poinsett,  Secretary  of  War: 

Sir, — I inclose  to  you  for  the  information  of  the  President, 
a communication  just  received  from  a committee  appointed  by  a 
public  meeting  of  the  citizens  of  the  counties  of  Camden, 
Wayne,  and  Glynn,  to  address  this  Department  upon  the  sub- 
ject of  the  incursions  of  the  Indians  into  this  State. 

This  communication  is  from  gentlemen  of  high  respecta- 
bility. The  great  alarm  and  distress  which  exist  among  the 
inhabitants  of  all  the  counties  near  the  Okefinokee  swamp,  and 
the  general  abandonment  of  their  homes  and  property,  on  ac- 
count of  the  inefficiency  of  the  troops,  or  their  want  of  sufficient 
force  to  restrain  the  murderous  and  destructive  inroads  of  the 
Indians,  would  seem  to  demand  some  further  interposition  on 
the  part  of  the  Government  for  their  relief. 

I was  very  well  satisfied  with  the  arrangement  made  by 
Gen.  Taylor,  for  the  protection  of  that  part  of  the  country,  from 
my  confidence  in  him  as  an  officer,  his  knowledge  of  the  country 
and  the  Indians,  and  because  I supposed  that  it  would  he  dan- 
gerous to  the  health  of  the  troops,  if,,  previous  to  cold  weather,  a 
sufficient  force  should  be  collected  and  remain  long  enough  in 
service  to  drive  the  Indians  from  the  Okefinokee  swamp.  It 
appears,  however,  that  the  country  exposed  to  the  attacks  of  the 
Indians  is  too  extensive  to  be  defended  by  the  companies  now  in 
service,  and  that  quiet  and  security  can  only  be  afforded  to  the 
people  by  subduing  the  enemy. 

I would,  therefore,  respectfully  suggest  to  the  President,  that 
an  attempt  be  made  at  once  to  effect  that  object.  I suppose 
that  a competent  number  of  mounted  volunteer  companies  could 
be  assembled  immediately  from  the  counties  around  the  swamp, 
if  such  a requisition  were  made  upon  me  as  to  authorize  my 
offering  the  command  to  Gen.  Charles  Floyd.  The  want  of 
funds,  and  a regular  organized  Quartermaster’s  Department, 
form  an  almost  insuperable  obstacle  to  the  successful  operation 
of  a large  body  of  troops,  on  the  part  of  the  State.  I,  therefore, 


560 


FIE  ST  SETTLE  KS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


propose  that  the  Government  will  authorize  this  Department  to 
call  out  two  regiments  of  militia,  to  act  against  the  Indians,  that 
they  be  mustered  into  the  service  of  the  United  States,  and  the 
necessary  provisions  and  supplies  be  provided  for  them  as  soon 
as  they  are  organized. 

This  proposition  is  only  made  upon  the  supposition  that 
Gen.  Taylor  may  not  be  able  to  undertake  this  service.  If  he 
can,  and  the  Government  will  order  him  upon  it,  I am  well  sat- 
isfied that  it  will  be  executed  faithfully. 

The  suffering  of  the  people  from  alarm,  and  the  abandon- 
ment of  their  property,  appears  to  be  so  great,  that  whatever  is 
to  be  done  for  their  relief,  should  be  done  quickly. 

Very  respectfully,  yours,  &c., 

George  R.  Gilmer. 


Head  Quarters,  Okefinokee  District,  Camp  Hope,  Jan.  4tl>,  1839. 

Sir, — Since  my  last  communication  to  your  Excellency,  of 
December  7th,  every  exertion  has  been  made  to  bring  the  enemy 
to  battle,  without  success.  They  have  fled  before  my  detach- 
ments, leaving  their  clothing,  cooking  utensils,  &c.,  without 
firing  a gun  ; and  have  either  gone  to  Florida,  or  are  so  securely 
hid,  that  they  have  escaped  the  most  active  movements  from 
various  points,  both  inside  and  outside  the  swamp. 

I cannot  yet  report  'positively  to  your  Excellency,  that  no 
Indians  remain  on  the  soil  of  Georgia,  although  it  is  my  belief, 
from  the  late  discovery  of  trails  leading  to  Florida  (near  the 
Suwannee),  and  other  circumstances,  that  they  have  gone  there. 

I send  herewith  a map  of  the  Okefinokee,  roughly  drawn 
on  the  field  by  Lieut.  McLane,  topographical  engineer  of  the 
United  States  Army.  The  mean  diameter  of  the  swamp  is  be- 
tween 85  and  40  miles. 

I am.  with  high  respect, 

Your  Excellency’s  obedient  servant, 
Charles  Floyd, 

Brig.  Gen.  Commanding  (as  Col.)  Okefinokee  Hist. 

His  Excellency,  Geo.  E.  Gilmer, 

Governor  of  Georgia. 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


561 


All  in  Georgia  were  Jackson  men  whilst  Gen. 
Jackson  was  in  office,  the  Clark  party  from  choice,  the 
Crawford  party  from  necessity,  so  that  the  old  factions 
began  to  lose  their  lines  of  demarcation,  and  new  parties 
to  be  formed  upon  the  general  principles  which  divided 
the  people  of  the  United  States. 

In  May,  1838,  a call  was  made  by  some  of  the 
leaders  of  the  superadhesive  Jackson  men,  for  the 
assembling  of  a Convention  to  select  candidates  for  the 
high  offices  of  the  State,  and  for  putting  forth  to  the 
public  their  notions  upon  government.  The  call  met 
with  a ready  response. 

On  the  morning  of  the  day  when  the  Convention 
was  to  meet,  I told  my  wife  as  I went  to  the  Executive 
office,  that  I would  invite  some  of  the  members  to 
dinner.  Not  one  of  them  called  at  the  Executive  office, 
to  offer  the  usual  civilities  to  the  Governor  on  such 
occasions,  though  their  assembling  place  was  in  the 
State  House. 

My  messenger  was  a raw  youth,  the  son  of  a poor 
widow.  His  elevation  to  office  so  magnified  the  im- 
portance of  the  incumbent  in  his  own  eyes,  that  he 
considered  himself  but  little  below  the  Governor  in 
official  dignity.  After  the  Convention  met,  and  not  a 
member  had  made  his  bow,  I wrote  the  following 
words  upon  a slip  of  paper : — “ Hone  of  the  members 
of  the  Convention  will  be  invited  to  dinner  to-day,” 
gave  it  to  the  messenger,  and  directed  him  to  carry  it 
up  to  the  house,  the  Governor’s  residence  being  on  the 
top  of  the  hill  in  Milledgeville.  Mr.  Lewis,  one  of  my 
secretaries,  wms  standing  near  the  entrance  into  the 
Representative  Hall,  where  the  Convention  was  in  ses- 
sion, in  conversation  with  some  one,  when  he  observed 
the  messenger  approach.  His  attention  was  attracted 
36 


562 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OP  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


particularly  to  him  by  noticing  his  unusually  eager, 
intent  looks.  He  asked  him  what  he  was  going  to  do. 
The  messenger  answered  that  he  was  directed  by  the 
Governor  to  carry  a communication  up  to  the  House. 
Lewis  asked  him  what  it  was.  He  showed  the  note 
which  I had  sent  to  my  wife,  containing  the  words, 
“None  of  the  members  of  the  Convention  will  be 
invited  to  dinner  to-day,”  which  he  was  preparing  to 
address  to  the  President,  as  he  had  seen  the  secretaries 
do  when  they  delivered  messages  to  the  Senate  and 
House  of  Representatives.  The  President  of  the  Con- 
vention was  Mr.  Spalding,  a very  proud,  aristocratic 
Scotch  gentleman  of  the  McIntosh  clan,  who  had 
travelled  over  Europe,  attended  the  British  Parliament, 
heard  Erskine,  Fox,  and  Pitt  speak,  was  as  conse- 
quential as  a lord,  and  as  irascible  as  a Highlander. 
It  is  difficult  to  conceive  what  would  have  been  the 
effect  of  the  address  of  my  official,  after  the  formal  an- 
nouncement of  the  Secretary  of  the  Convention  to  the 
body, — “ A message  from  the  Governor,” — the  words, 
“Hone  of  the  members  of  the  Convention  will  be  in- 
vited to  dinner  to-day.” 

When  Lewis  read  the  note,  and  comprehended 
what  the  messenger  was  about  to  do,  he  was  so  over- 
come by  convulsions  of  laughter,  that  the  message  was 
near  being  delivered  before  he  could  sufficiently  recover 
himself  to  explain  to  him  that  the  note  was  for  my 
wife,  and  must  be  carried  up  to  the  Governor’s  house. 

The  people  of  every  free,  wealthy,  prosperous  com- 
munity are  subject  to  occasional  fits  of  excess,  in  their 
haste  to  grow  rich.  The  Georgians  have  had  their 
gold  mania,  land  mania,  cotton  mania,  and  bank  mania. 

In  1838,  the  active,  speculating  class  became  eager 
to  acquire  wealth  rapidly,  by  issuing  notes  to  pass  for 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


5(13 


money.  They  proposed  to  do  this  upon  the  pledge  of 
their  land  and  negroes,  for  the  repayment  of  the  notes 
which  they  might  put  into  circulation.  They  beset 
the  Legislature,  to  give  the  force  of  law  to  their  schemes. 
Whilst  the  bill  for  the  purpose  was  on  its  passage, 
apprehensions  were  so  generally  felt  and  expressed, 
that  I would  veto  the  bill  if  it  passed,  that  considerable 
agitation  was  excited  in  the  country  on  that  account. 
The  advocates  of  the  measure  were  induced  thereby  to 
use  so  many  precautions  to  secure  the  payment  of  the 
notes  which  might  be  put  into  circulation  by  the  banks 
which  might  be  formed  in  pursuance  of  the  law,  that 
I signed  the  bill,  when  it  passed,  without  hesitation. 

The  intentness  of  the  many,  to  pocket  what  they 
considered  money,  to  the  amount  of  the  value  of  their 
land  and  negroes,  without  parting  with  their  property, 
and  thereby  doubling  their  estates,  would  most  prob- 
ably have  produced  the  ruinous  effects  of  excessive 
bank  issues,  but  for  the  difficulties  thus  thrown  in  the 
way.  One  or  two  banks  went  into  operation,  and 
closed  their  business,  to  the  great  discomfiture  of  all 
concerned. 

The  constant  and  excessive  labor  which  I had  to 
perform,  and  the  responsibility  and  anxious  care  which 
attended  my  exertions  to  remove  the  Cherokees  from 
the  State  without  bloodshed ; the  sympathy  which  I 
felt  for  the  population  of  the  South-Eastern  Counties, 
when  exposed  to  the  massacring  attacks  of  the  Creeks ; 
and  the  earnest  attention  which  I gave  to  the  assem- 
bling and  organizing  troops  for  their  defence,  added  to 
the  necessary  performance  of  the  ordinary  duties  of 
the  Executive  office,  proved  too  burdensome  for  my 
feeble  system.  My  health  failed,  I became  so  danger- 
ously ill  in  the  spring  of  1839,  that  my  family,  phy- 


564 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


sicians  and  friends  despaired  of  my  recovery.  Dr. 
White  and  Dr.  Font  found  it  necessary  to  be  with  me 
every  day,  for  months,  and  three  times  a day  for  many 
weeks.  I received  from  them  not  only  the  benefit  of 
their  great  professional  skill,  but  the  kind  treatment  of 
the  best  of  friends.  They  watched  with  great  intent- 
ness the  effect  of  their  medicines,  and  every  change  of 
the  disease,  so  as  to  avail  themselves  of  each  incident 
in  their  endeavors  to  effect  my  cure.  There  were  many 
states  of  the  disease  so  immediately  tending  to  death, 
that  I am  convinced  that  my  life  could  not  have  been 
saved,  but  by  their  presence  and  skill.  Whatever 
could  be  done  for  my  relief  and  cure  was  done  by 
them.  I never  see  them,  nor  think  of  them,  but  with 
the  strongest  feelings  of  gratitude  for  their  services,  and 
the  kind  manner  in  which  they  were  rendered.  Mrs. 
White  and  Mrs.  Font  were  with  my  wife  whenever  they 
could  be  of  any  service  to  her.  Two  of  my  home 
friends,  Col.  Lumpkin  and  Mr.  Dawson,  came  to  me 
when  I was  thought  to  be  in  the  last  extremity.  I re- 
member well  their  distress  when  they  parted  from  me, 
with  the  evident  belief,  that  when  we  met  next,  it 
would  not  be  in  this  life. 

My  wife  was  ever  at  my  side  through  all  the  danger 
of  the  disease,  administering  all  the  medicines,  and 
doing  with  her  own  hands  whatever  could  be  done  for 
my  relief.  Her  natural  feebleness  seemed  to  become 
enduring  strength.  Her  eyes  were  never  off  me,  except 
to  take  the  snatches  of  sleep  necessary  for  sustaining 
her  own  life.  Her  hands  were  constantly  employed  in 
smoothing  my  pillow,  applying  cold  cloths  to  my  hot 
head,  directing  my  attention  from  the  pain,  by  rubbing 
the  diseased  parts,  or  soothing  away  irritation  by  some 
gentle  emollient.  Her  aptitude  for  understanding  dis- 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


565 


eases  and  their  proper  cure,  derived  from  her  sympathy 
with  the  sick,  her  quick  and  keen  observation  of  each 
minute  particular  of  cases  and  their  successful  remedies, 
enabled  her  to  aid  the  physicians  in  all  that  they  did 
for  me.  To  her  unwearied,  never  ceasing  watchfulness, 
skilful  nursing,  affectionate  tenderness,  and  loving  kind- 
ness, I owe  my  life. 

Whilst  I was  in  the  greatest  peril  she  sent  for  Dr. 
Henry  Branham.  We  had  some  peculiar  claims  upon 
his  friendship,  as  he  had  upon  ours.  He  had  attended 
me  once  before,  when  I was  expected  to  die,  and  had 
been  singularly  successful  in  the  application  of  remedies. 
He  came.  But  believing  that  no  treatment  could  pre- 
vent the  disease  proving  fatal,  and  finding  that  he 
would  only  add  to  the  distress  of  my  wife  from  his 
inability  to  bear  with  fortitude  the  sight  of  my  dying, 
he  returned  home  and  sent  to  us  my  brother-in-law 
Dr.  Grattan,  who  then  resided  in  Madison.  It  wTas 
fortunate  that  he  did  so.  Dr.  Grattan  found  my  wife 
exhausted,  and  almost  hopeless.  Her  confidence  in  his 
affectionate  and  watchful  care,  induced  her  to  take 
some  rest,  without  which  she  would  have  been  unable 
to  continue  her  nursing,  so  indispensably  necessary  to 
my  recovery.  Indeed,  it  was  wonderful  how  so  feeble 
a body  as  mine  endured  for  so  long  time  constant 
scorching  fever  and  strangely  disordered  body.  I 
owed  my  cure,  under  Providence,  to  nursing  which  had 
never  been  equalled,  and  professional  skill  and  atten- 
tion which  has  never  been  surpassed.  Months  went  by 
in  the  struggle  between  life  and  death,  until  the  energy 
which  belonged  so  surprisingly  to  my  frail  system, 
carried  me  beyond  the  apprehended  danger. 

During  my  sickness,  the  business  of  the  Executive 
office  so  accumulated,  that  the  first  day  when  my  phy- 


566 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


sicians  permitted  me  to  think  of  what  had  to  be  done, 
I signed  sixty  grants,  and  examined  the  record  of  the 
trial  of  a criminal  condemned  to  be  hung,  and  granted 
his  reprieve. 

The  necessity  for  laboring  rendered  it  impossible 
for  me  to  gain  strength.  When  the  time  at  last  ar- 
rived for  quitting  office,  and  the  great  seal  of  the  State 
was  transferred  to  my  successor,  I felt  that  a weight 
beyond  endurance  was  taken  off  me.  I could  not  be 
kept  in  Milledgeville.  I left  it  a few  hours  after,  and 
set  off  for  my  home,  with  the  eagerness  of  an  untamed 
bird  escaping  from  its  cage. 

When  I went  into  the  Executive  office  preparatory 
to  my  inauguration  in  1829,  I found  Mr.  Forsyth  sur- 
rounded by  his  political  friends.  He  received  me  with 
as  much  self-possession  and  courtesy,  as  if  he  had  aided 
my  election,  iustead  of  using  against  me,  as  he  had 
done,  all  the  means  which  his  supercilious  temper  and 
indolent  habits  permitted.  I was  very  much  embar- 
rassed by  the  strange  situation  and  company  in  which 
I found  myself,  and  my  entire  ignorance  of  the  forms 
to  be  observed. 

When  Mr.  Lumpkin,  my  successful  opponent  in 
1831,  came  into  the  Executive  office  on  the  morning 
when  he  was  to  lie  inaugurated,  where  I was  still  in 
possession  officially,  I forgot  the  mortifying  circum- 
stances of  my  own  situation,  upon  witnessing  his  utter 
confusion.  Previous  to  his  becoming  a candidate,  he 
assured  me  that  he  approved  my  recommendations  to 
the  Legislature,  that  the  gold  mines  should  be  reserved 
for  the  use  of  the  State,  and  the  Indians  protected 
against  injustice;  telling  me  that  he  would  not  avail 
himself  of  the  unpopularity  which  had  followed  what  I 
had  done  to  become  Governor,  though  he  had  been 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


567 


greatly  urged  to  do  so.  But  the  temptation  to  office, 
increased  with  the  increasing  probabilities  of  success, 
until  the  assurance  which  had  been  given  to  me  un- 
necessarily, was  necessarily  forgotten. 

When  I was  elected  over  Governor  Schley  in  1837, 
the  excitement  which  usually  attends  success  was  unfelt. 
I had  the  disposition  to  relieve  as  far  as  I could  the 
wounded  feelings  of  my  defeated  opponent.  But  he 
belonged  too  decidedly  to  the  stiff-necked  class  to  be 
pacified  by  courtesy. 

I had  not  been  a candidate  for  re-election  in  1839, 
when  I was  succeeded  in  office  by  Judge  McDonald. 
Though  of  opposite  parties,  we  had  always  been  civil 
to  each  other.  He  was  too  much  embarrassed,  to  in- 
dulge in  any  exhibition  of  party  triumph ; and  I was 
so  feeble  and  emaciated  by  disease,  as  to  be  looked 
upon  with  kindness  by  every  one  who  saw  me  deliver 
up  the  insignia  of  office. 

Before  I arrived  at  my  home,  a report  reached  me, 
that  my  friends  in  Lexington  being  dissatisfied  with  the 
shapeless  appearance  of  my  old  house,  had  purchased 
a residence  for  me,  more  suitable  to  an  ex-Governor. 
The  report  was  not  exactly  true.  One  or  two  of  them 
believing  that  I would  like  a house  and  lot  which  was 
offered  for  sale  at  the  time,  better  than  my  own,  made 
a conditional  bargain  for  it,  which  I complied  with  upon 
reaching  Lexington. 

I left  the  place  where  I had  passed  many  years  as 
happily  as  belongs  to  our  condition  in  this  world,  for 
another  dwelling  nearer  a perfect  parallelogram,  and 
covered  with  boards  fresher  painted  than  the  old  one. 
It  was  a sore  trial  to  leave  the  trees  which  I had 
planted,  the  garden  which  I had  cultivated,  and  the 
office  where  I had  attended  to  professional  business. 


568 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


My  wife  liked  the  new  fixations.  Bnt  when  she  found 
tfie  change  distressed  me,  and  that  the  attachment 
which  I had  for  the  old  liouse  was  derived  from  the 
pleasure  we  had  enjoyed  there  together,  she  proposed 
that  we  should  stay  where  Ave  were.  We  came  to  the 
conclusion  however,  after  talking  over  the  matter,  that 
we  ought  not  to  let  others  know  that  circumstances 
could  make  children  of  us.  So  we  thanked  our  friends 
Avitli  a satisfied  air  for  their  consideration  about  our 
comfort,  moved  every  thing  aAvay  from  the  old  to  the 
new  house,  and  were  soon  as  happy  in  it  as  we  had 
ever  been  elseA\rhere.  Indeed,  the  change  was  greatly  for 
the  better,  as  my  wife’s  taste  had  perceived  at  first. 
We  set  to  work  industriously,  to  make  every  thing  ac- 
cord Avitli  my  wife’s  fancy.  We  have  found  an  ample 
field  for  labor : I in  building  barns,  clearing  and  fen- 
cing land,  making  meadows,  planting  fruit  trees,  and 
adding  to  the  house  ; my  wife,  in  fitting  up  a conser- 
vatory with  rare  and  beautiful  flowers,  ornamenting  the 
garden,  walks,  and  grounds,  selecting  and  arranging 
furniture,  and  providing  every  thing  else  necessary  for 
pleasure  and  comfort. 

I had  endeavored,  years  before,  to  purchase  from 
the  then  owner  of  the  new  place  a very  romantic  spot, 
which  had  been  a favorite  haunt  of  mine  Avlien  young. 
Now  that  it  belonged  to  me,  I endeavored  to  make  it 
inviting  to  others.  Woods  cover  the  sides  of  tAvo  pre- 
cipitous hills,  which  are  separated  by  a clear  rapidly 
running  stream.  Masses  of  granite  rocks,  which  have 
been  divided  by  some  great  convulsion,  are  scattered 
about,  the  parts  usually  lying  so  near,  and  being  so 
shaped  for  fitting  into  each  other,  that  the  most  casual 
observer  discovers  that  they  were  at  one  time  united. 
There  is  a large  bowlder,  tAventy  or  thirty  feet  long,  and 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


569 


twelve  or  fifteen  thick,  which  rests  upon  several  other 
granite  rocks  at  the  height  of  about  ten  feet.  Its  form, 
as  it  lies  out  to  the  sight,  shows  by  the  rounding  of  its 
exterior,  that  it  has  been  fashioned  into  its  present 
shape,  by  being  rolled  over  and  over  among  other  rocks 
by  some  vast  power.  The  rocks  on  which  it  rests 
evince  in  the  most  obvious  way  the  truth  of  what 
geologists  say  of  the  antiquity  of  the  world.  Passing 
by  this  bowlder,  a shower  of  rain  compelled  me  to  take 
shelter  under  its  projecting  end.  My  attention  was 
drawn  to  the  pouring  of  the  water  from  its  sides  upon 
the  rock  which  supported  it.  I saw  that  the  surface 
of  the  lower  rock  was  worn  into  holes  along  its  whole 
face,  large  at  the  exterior  and  less  and  less  as  the  rocks 
approach  nearer  and  nearer  to  each  other.  A little 
below,  on  the  descent  of  the  hill  from  the  bowlder,  is  a 
large  mass  of  granite  rocks,  one  side  of  which  forms  a 
high  precipice.  Two  trees  have  grown  up  from  below, 
since  my  first  knowledge  of  the  place.  Their  bodies 
have  continued  to  press  upon  the  edge  of  the  project- 
ing mass,  until  enlargements  have  been  formed  which 
have  taken  hold  of  the  rocks,  so  that  the  trees  are  now 
pillars,  upholding  what  seems  ready  to  fall  and  crush 
persons  standing  beneath. 

On  the  top  of  the  mass  of  rocks  are  two  other  trees, 
showing  by  their  decayed  tops  that  the  supply  of  mat- 
ter for  their  growth  cannot  be  increased.  Near  by 
their  roots,  is  a rock  which  weighs  about  ten  or  fifteen 
tons,  Avhich  rests  upon  two  small  points  at  its  transverse 
ends  so  equally,  that  it  is  easily  moved.  A level  space 
of  several  feet  extends  from  this  moveable  rock  to  the 
precipice.  The  young  people  of  the  village  assemble 
here  to  try  the  state  of  their  hearts,  by  trying  to  set 
the  rock  in  motion.  As  this  is  easily  done,  every  one 


570 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


over  fifteen  is  found  to  be  in  love.  Along  the  sides  of 
the  rocks  are  fissures  in  which  grape-vines  and  honey- 
suckles grow.  From  the  top  is  a near  view  of  a beauti- 
ful meadow,  through  which  meanders  a creek  in  cir- 
cuits so  graceful,  as  to  appear  the  work  of  design.  Be- 
yond rises  a high  hill,  the  side  of  which  is  covered  with 
a forest  of  unsurpassed  beauty.  Through  its  trees  may 
be  seen  many  large  granite  rocks.  A Yankee  school- 
mistress, just  arrived  South,  accompanied  a party  on  a 
visit  to  the  Lover’s  Leap.  She  saw,  whilst  she  stood  by 
the  movable  rock,  an  opening  under  one  of  these 
granite  rocks,  and  asked  for  a description  of  the  place. 
One  of  the  company  who  knew  it  well,  answered,  to 
the  young  lady’s  terror,  that  it  was  a cavern  where  some 
wild  men  had  concealed  themselves  to  escape  the  obser- 
vation of  the  world. 

Soon  after  our  return  from  Milledgeville,  I laid  out 
a walk  from  the  house  to  the  Lover’s  Leap,  and  orna- 
mented it  with  a great  number  and  variety  of  flowers, 
fruit  trees,  and  grape-vines.  The  flowers  found  the 
soil  ungenial  for  their  growth,  and  have  perished.  The 
fruit  trees  and  grape-vines  now  shade  the  walk,  and 
supply  to  visitors  at  the  proper  season,  an  abundance 
of  delicious  fruit. 

I have  always  been  a lover  of  little  girls,  and  young 
ladies.  I invited  them  all  to  visit  the  Lover’s  Leap  along 
this  walk,  to  take  with  them  beaux,  and  eat  of  the  fruit 
without  restraint.  My  plan  to  please  has  had  its  em- 
barrassments. When  it  was  discovered  that  the  walk 
to  the  Lover’s  Leap  was  free  to  some,  others  would  go  ; 
so  that  my  friends  often  found  fruit  scarce.  I have  had 
to  confess  myself  mistaken.  To  correct  the  error,  I have 
given  notice  that  my  fruit  is  my  own,  and  must  not  be 
taken  without  my  permission 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


571 


In  1840 1 was  a candidate  for  elector  of  President  and 
Vice-President  of  the  United  States.  My  opposition 
to  Mr.  Van  Buren  had  become  very  determined,  as  the 
developments  of  his  conduct  and  character  made  it 
more  and  more  evident  that  his  rare  adroitness  and 
great  tact  for  managing  party  materials  disqualified 
him  for  using  power  for  noble  purposes.  I had  been 
an  elector  in  1886  and  voted  for  Judge  White.  The 
same  reasons  which  induceed  me  to  oppose  Mr.  Van 
Buren  then  continued  to  operate  with  additional  force 
in  1840.  I again  disregarded  party  ties  from  the  strong 
conviction  that  Mr.  Van  Buren  and  those  associated 
with  him  in  office  were  destroying  confidence  in  the 
Democracy  by  the  manner  in  which  they  conducted 
themselves  in  office.  A democrat  myself,  I considered 
it  better  for  the  country  to  have  honest  men  to  admin- 
ister the  Government  without  clearly  defined  political 
principles,  than  those  who  professed  well,  but  acted 
badly.  I was  elected,  made  President  of  the  Electoral 
College,  and  proclaimed  the  result  of  the  election,  that 
all  the  votes  of  Georgia  were  given  for  William  Henry 
Harrison  to  be  President  and  John  Tyler  to  be  Vice- 
President. 

Although  I made  several  public  speeches  during 
the  canvass  for  General  Harrison,  and  attended  in  the 
usual  way  to  my  private  business,  I continued  for  sev- 
eral years  to  suffer  from  the  effects  of  the  disease  which 
prostrated  me  so  long  immediately  before  I left  Mil- 
ledgeville.  I had  almost  at  all  times  a slight  fever,  and 
was  in  consequence  so  excitable  as  to  be  constantly 
carried  away  with  the  hurry  of  my  thoughts,  when 
speaking  or  conversing  upon  political  or  other  subjects 
of  interest.  Hot  agreeing  in  the  party  course  pursued 
by  many  of  my  most  intimate  friends,  I often  belabored 


572 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


tliem  for  what  they  were  doing  in  the  most  impassioned 
way.  They  suffered,  without  anger  or  retort,  my  ap- 
parently rude  treatment,  in  a manner  which,  though  it 
only  irritated  me  then,  I remember  very  gratefully 
now.  Colonel  Hardeman,  Mr.  Dawson,  Mr.  Hall,  and 
Mr.  Stevens’  conduct  I especially  treasure  up  in  mem- 
ory. My  wife’s  hand  was  often  placed  upon  me  in 
the  gentlest  way,  to  remind  me  how  loud  and  rudely 
I was  talking.  Occasionally  the  top  of  my  head 
became  blood-red,  and  at  the  highest  fever  heat.  My 
health  grew  worse,  until  I was  confined  to  bed.  For 
many  months  my  wife  watched  over  me  with  un- 
ceasing care,  applying  day  and  night,  without  ever 
leaving  me,  the  remedies  prescribed  for  my  relief. 
At  my  lowest  state,  when  life  hung  upon  the  slen- 
derest thread,  she  was  ever  at  my  side,  watching 
every  indication  for  hope.  Once,  late  at  night,  she 
noticed  the  usual  synqitoms  which  immediately  pre- 
cede death.  Brandy  was  poured  down  my  throat 
in  a moment,  in  larger  quantities  than  I had  ever 
drank  in  my  strongest  days,  and  until  the  weakening, 
fluttering  pulsation  acquired  strength  to  overcome 
the  obstruction  which  was  stopping  its  movement. 
Perpetual  watching  and  anxiety  reduced  her  to  the 
feeblest  condition.  Her  own  life  could  not  have  lasted 
much  longer  with  such  pressure  upon  it.  Her  sister, 
Mrs.  Harris,  was  informed  of  our  dangerous  state. 
She  received  the  letter  as  she  was  going  from  her 
home  to  church.  She  and  Dr.  Harris  returned  to 
their  home  in  the  greatest  haste,  threw  a few  clothes 
into  a trunk,  set  off  for  Richmond,  got  on  the  rail- 
road, and  were  with  us  in  the  shortest  possible  time. 
My  wife,  confiding  in  her  sister’s  love  and  care,  as  she 
would  have  confided  in  nobody  else,  slept  for  the 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


573 


first  time  for  a long  while  a sleep  of  restoration.  My 
wife,  aided  by  Dr.  Harris  and  my  sister  Lucy,  rubbed 
my  bands  and  feet,  soothed  every  irritation,  admin- 
istered medicines,  applied  palliatives,  until  some  signs 
of  recovery  began  to  appear.  My  negroes  waited 
upon  me  as  few  persons  have,  ever  been  waited  on 
by  their  nearest  kindred. 

Indispensable  business  obliged  Dr.  Harris  to  return 
home : I could  not  part  with  his  wife.  I felt  that  my 
wife’s  life  might  depend  upon  her  sister’s  staying. 
The  doctor  consented  that  she  should  remain  with  us 
for  a while  longer,  if  means  could  be  provided  for  her 
safe  return  to  Virginia.  My  wife  sent  for  my  neigh- 
bor, Lewis  J.  Deupree,  and  asked  him  if  he  would 
take  charge  of  Mrs.  Harris  as  far  as  Richmond,  as  he 
went  to  New  York.  He  answered,  “ My  dear  madam, 
it  is  immaterial  whether  I go  to  New  York  or  not.  I 
will  go  home  with  your  sister  whenever  she  desires  to 
return,  if  she  will  remain  with  you.”  I recovered, 
with  an  abiding  spirit  of  thankfulness"^  for  my  preser- 
vation ; increased  love,  if  possible,  for  my  wife ; the 
warmest,  most  grateful  affection  for  our  sister  and  her 
husband ; and  enhanced  regard  for  my  friends,  neigh- 
bors, and  negroes. 

In  the  beginning  of  January  of  the  year  of  the 
sickness  which  I have  been  describing,  I was  seated 
one  morning  before  a table,  with  my  back  to  the  win- 
dows of  my  dressing-room,  shaving,  when  I heard  a 
noise,  and  turning,  saw  a mocking-bird,  apparently 
endeavoring  to  get  in.  After  watching  its  movements 
for  some  time,  I finished  what  I was  about.  The  bird 
still  continued  to  fly  against  the  window.  Supposing 
that  it  might  be  tame,  and  had  lost  its  way  home,  I 
raised  the  sash,  so  that  it  might  enter ; but  it  would 


574 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


not.  I imagined  that  it  might  he  hungry,  as  the  cold 
had  been  very  severe.  I put  bread  crumbs  on  the 
sill  and  other  places  near  by.  The  bird  took  no  notice 
of  the  bread,  in  its  eager  flying  against  the  window. 
Its  perch  was  on  a tall  largestreamia  bush,  which  grew 
near,  to  which  it  would  return  after  exhausting  its 
strength  by  the  flapping  of  its  wings  against  the  glass. 
It  would  then  droop  its  feathers,  look  wearied  and 
mournful,  sit  for  a few  moments  perfectly  still,  and 
again  fly  against  the  glass.  This  alternate  flying 
against  the  glass,  and  sitting  motionless  on  the  larges- 
treamia bush,  continued  for  several  hours.  The  next 
morning  the  mocking-bird  was  again  on  the  larges- 
treamia bush,  and  flying  against  the  glass  of  the  win- 
dow. Each  morning,  for  several  months,  it  renewed 
the  ivork  of  the  day  before.  My  health  continued  de- 
clining from  about  the  time  of  the  appearance  of  the 
mocking-bird  at  the  window,  until  1 was  confined  to 
bed.  Each  succeeding  day,  for  months,  increased  the 
probability  that  I would  never  quit  it,  but  to  be  car- 
ried to  the  grave.  Whilst  thus  confined  and  sick,  I 
often  noticed  the  startling  effect  upon  visitors  at  my 
bedside,  from  the  noise  made  by  the  flapping  of  the 
wings  of  the  mocking-bird  against  the  window  of  my 
room,  saying,  as  they  interpreted  the  sign  more  forci- 
bly than  words  could  have  done,  “ Hear  the  warning 
of  approaching  death ! ” 

The  mocking-bird  was  the  female  of  a pair  which 
nested  and  raised  their  young  in  a rose-bush  near  the 
house,  the  male  of  which  had  been  caught  by  a cat. 
The  window  against  which  the  female  continued  to 
fly  so  long,  was  shaded  by  a blind  of  slats  on  the 
inside,  and  then  let  down  half-way,  so  that  when  the 
bird  was  perched  on  the  largestreamia  bush,  it  saw  its 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


575 


reflected  image,  moving  when  it  moved,  and  meeting 
it  on  the  glass  when  it  flew  against  it.  This  reflected 
image  the  faithful  female  bird  took  for  its  lost  mate. 

When  my  grandfather  Lewis  was  dying,  a white 
bird  was  observed  upon  the  house-top.  It  was,  accord- 
ing to  Irish  belief,  the  family  Benshee,  wdio  had  crossed 
the  ocean  to  be  present  at  the  death  of  the  head  of  the 
Lewises,  and  attend  his  spirit  to  the  land  of  his  ances- 
tors, before  it  passed  away  for  ever. 

My  grandfather  lived  on  the  Shenandoah  River — a 
favorite  resort  of  the  white  heron — one  of  whom,  in 
going  up  and  down,  had  passed  by  the  house,  to  avoid 
going  round  a great  bend,  and  stopped  on  the  house- 
top to  take  its  direction. 

The  vivid  imagination  of  the  Irish  people  conjures 
up,  on  the  happening  of  any  unaccountable  incident, 
genii,  fairies,  hobgoblins,  and  spirits  suited  to  the 
occasion. 

The  habit  of  minute  and  accurate  observation, 
which  characterizes  the  people  of  this  country,  is 
teaching  the  people  of  the  Old  World  among  us,  that 
these  creations  of  superstition  are  not  fitting  existences 
for  the  New  World. 

Negro  slavery  has  been,  since  the  formation  of 
the  Federal  Government,  a subject  of  controversy  be- 
tween the  North  and  the  South.  Public  attention  has 
been  directed  to  it,  for  some  years  past,  with  increased 
excitement,  by  its  forced  connection  with  party  poli- 
tics. Petitions  to  Congress,  the  Wilmot  proviso,  the 
law  for  the  arrest  of  fugitive  slaves,  the  admission  of 
California  into  the  Pinion,  the  formation  of  new  terri- 
tories, the  proceedings  of  the  State  Legislature,  and 
Conventions  of  the  people  in  reference  thereto,  and 
the  debates  in  Congress,  have  created  so  much  agita- 


576 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


tion  throughout  the  entire  country,  as  to  cause  many 
to  fear  for  the  integrity  of  the  Union. 

In  consequence  of  resolutions  passed  by  the  Legis- 
lature of  Georgia,  in  1849,  and  the  subsequent  pro- 
clamation of  the  Governor,  a Convention  of  the  people 
of  the  State  met  in  Milledgeville,  in  November,  1850. 
It  passed  various  resolutions,  and  adjourned.  Before 
their  separation,  a portion  of  the  members  met,  and 
agreed  to  convert  the  Convention,  to  save  the  Union, 
into  a meeting  to  form  a political  party.  The  follow- 
ing extracts  from  a letter  written  to  a friend,  and 
from  a speech  made  in  the  Convention,  are  given  here, 
because  of  the  great  and  continuing  importance  of  the 
subject  discussed : — 

Lexington,  January  8th,  1851. 

Dear  Sir, — The  pleasure  you  feel  at  the  result  of  the 
action  of  the  late  Convention,  is  participated  in  by  almost  every 
one.  You  ask  my  opinion  of  what  was  done.  I will  give  you 
my  experience  as  my  answer. 

My  wife  and  myself  were  in  Virginia  during  August  and 
September.  When  we  returned  home,  we  were  attending  to 
flowers,  collecting  minerals,  reading  and  talking  cheek  by  jowl, 
scarcely  observing  that  the  face  of  society  was  ruffled  by  any 
unusual  excitement.  A fire-eating  meeting  was  held  one  day 
in  our  town.  I was  not  invited  to  it.  I nevertheless  took  my 
cane  and  stalked  in.  I listened  to  the  reading  of  a most  extra- 
ordinary report  to  the  meeting,  and  speech  in  support  of  it. 
Calls  were  made  for  speakers.  Some  one  in  the  crowd  called 
for  me.  I stepped  forward — attacked  the  report  and  resolu- 
tions so  furiously,  that,  like  the  raw  militiaman,  who,  striking 
with  might  and  main  hither  and  yon,  succeeded  in  driving  a 
whole  host  before  him.  There  was  a unanimous  vote  against 
the  report,  and  all  the  resolutions  except  one,  and  that  was 
altered  so  as  to  make  it  inoffensive.  The  election  for  members 
of  the  Convention  came  on.  I was  elected  by  nearly  every  vote. 
I went  to  Milledgeville,  shook  hands  heartily  with  my  old 
friends,  kissed  the  young  ones,  and  was  very  much  pleased  to  be 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


577 


where  I hacl  passed  a long  time  very  pleasantly.  Judge  Sayer 
and  Dr.  Terrell,  old  friends,  just  from  Europe,  were  at  Mr. 
Orrn’s,  our  host.  They  kept  us  amused  and  excited,  by  their 
accounts  of  tbe  novelties  of  Europe.  I never  saw,  except  by 
accident,  any  of  the  leaders  of  the  Convention.  My  enthusiasm 
was  for  the  preservation  of  the  union  of  the  States,  and  not  for 
the  union  of  party  aspirants,  for  party  purposes.  I soon  found 
myself  out  of  place.  I give  you  an  extract  from  my  speech, 
made  in  the  Convention,  which  will  show  you  what  were  my 
opinions  and  position. 

“ The  condition  upon  which  the  committee  would  make  the 
continuance  of  the  Union  depend,  and  the  causes  set  forth  in  its 
report  as  sufficient  for  its  disruption,  are  alarming  propositions 
to  those  who  consider  the  Union  the  greatest  political  blessing 
which  any  form  of  government  ever  secured  to  men. 

The  people  have  beeD,  and  yet  are,  congratulating  themselves 
upon  the  removal  of  some  of  the  dangers  which  threatened  the 
country,  when  the  Legislature  called  this  Convention.  The 
passage  of  the  compromise  bill,  the  admission  of  California  into 
the  Union,  providing  territorial  governments  for  Utah  and  New 
Mexico,  settling  the  disputed  boundary  line  of  Texas,  and  the 
passage  of  the  fugitive  slave  act,  though  not  approved  by  every 
one,  are  such  measures  as  most  are  disposed,  and  all  ought,  to 
acquiesce  in.  The  cry  for  disunion  and  secession  which  was  at 
one  time  heard  from  every  part  of  the  Southern  country,  have 
been  hushed  up  by  the  sober  second  thoughts  of  the  people. 
Investigation  is  leading  to  the  conviction,  that  no  people  ever 
prospered  before,  as  the  people  of  the  United  States,  and  that 
no  determination  can  be  too  strong  to  preserve  unimpaired  the 
institutions  which  have  been  so  successful  in  their  operations. 

Causes  for  the  dissolution  of  the  Union  are  set  forth  by  the 
committee,  which  show  that  we  are  either  not  in  earnest  in  what 
we  say,  cr  that  we  value  but  lightly  the  vast  advantages  which 
we  enjoy.  And  yet  the  agitation  at  the  North  on  account  of 
slavery  at  the  South,  and  the  excitement  occasioned  thereby,  are 
fearful  indications  of  dangers  impending  over  us.  Cannot  this 
Convention  do  something  which  will  be  better  suited  to  further 
the  purposes  of  its  meeting,  than  exciting  the  ill-will  of  the 
Northern  people  by  threats,  and  stirring  up  strife  at  the  South.. 

37 


578 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


by  alarming  the  people  for  the  safety  of  their  negro  property  ? 
Let  ns  endeavor  to  convince  the  Northern  people,  that  their 
agitation  about  slavery  is  doing  wrong  to  their  Southern  brethren, 
and  cannot  possibly  do  any  good  to  themselves.  Let  us  intimate 
to  them  that  whilst  they,  a thousand  miles  off,  are  prying  after 
motes  in  our  eyes,  they  may  have  neglected  to  examine  the 
beam  which  is  protruding  from  their  own. 

Would  disrupting  the  Union  relieve  the  people  of  the  slave- 
holding States  from  interference  with  their  slaves  by  the  North- 
ern people?  Disruption  would  but  increase  the  evil.  We 
would  then  be  forced  to  raise  an  impassible  barrier  between  us 
and  them. 

The  dealings  of  God  with  the  Israelites  of  old  was  given  to 
us  for  our  instruction.  Let  us  profit  by  them.  The  twelve 
tribes  separated  from  each  other.  The  ten  were  lost,  utteidy 
extinguished  from  the  face  of  the  earth,  so  that  not  even  a rem- 
nant can  be  found.  The  other  two  have  been  scattered  over  the 
whole  world,  to  be  a byword  and  a reproach.  We,  too,  have 
been  the  favored  people  of  God  ; have  been  preserved,  and  have 
prospered  beyond  any  other  people.  Will  the  Convention  ob- 
struct the  glorious  onward  course  of  the  Union,  and  weaken  its 
strength,  by  setting  forth  light  and  trivial  causes  for  its  dis- 
memberment ? The  tables  of  the  law  written  by  the  finger  of 
God,  did  not  keep  the  descendants  of  Jacob  together.  AVill  we 
also  disregard  the  hand  which  has  guided  and  guarded  us  as 
obviously  as  the  cloud  by  day  and  the  pillar  of  fire  by  night  ? 
AVill  we  shut  our  eyes  to  the  lights  of  experience,  and  turn  into 
neAV  and  untried  paths  in  search  of  what  we  already  possess  ? 
Ought  we  not  rather  to  hold  on  to  what  has  been  found  so  good  ? 
Now  is  the  time  for  patriots  to  come  up  to  the  help  of  their 
country.  The  ark  of  our  Covenant  is  in  danger.  Let  us  re- 
member our  obligations  to  protect  it.  We  have  all  at  some  time, 
and  as  we  ought  to  have  done  in  becoming  members  of  this  Con- 
vention, taken  an  oath  to  support  the  Constitution  which  has  for 
sixty  years  held  the  States  together.  Will  we  observe  the 
solemn  requirements  of  that  oath  by  striving  to  weaken  or  de- 
stroy the  Union,  instead  of  supporting  and  giving  it  strength? 

The  Northern  people,  by  their  opposition  to  negro  slavery, 
and  resisting  the  law  for  the  arrest  of  fugitive  slaves,  are  dis- 


FIBST  SETTLEES  OF  UPPEB  G-EOBGIA. 


579 


tracting  the  North  and  annoying  the  South.  Why  should  they 
insist  upon  taking  care  of  the  consciences  of  the  people  of  the 
South  for  owning  slaves?  They  have  no  slaves,  and  do  not 
understand  the  relation  between  master  and  slave  at  the  South. 
Let  us  remind  them  that  negroes  were  held  as  property  by  the 
laws  of  each  of  the  Northern  States,  wdien  their  people  claimed 
the  distinction  of  being  the  purest  of  the  pure.  Ought  they  not, 
out  of  respect  for  their  ancestors,  to  let  us  enjoy  our  slave  pro- 
perty unmolested  ? Because  the  climate  is  too  cold  and  the 
population  of  the  Northern  States  too  dense  to  admit  of  the 
profitable  employment  of  negro  slaves,  they  have  set  theirs  free, 
and  left  them  to  support  themselves  as  they  can.  Does  it  follow 
that  the  South,  with  its  sparse  population  and  sunny  climate, 
must  follow  the  example  ? The  settlement  of  the  Southern 
colonies  progressed  but  slowly,  for  a long  time,  because  the  heat 
of  the  climate,  the  swamps  of  the  coasts,  and  the  rich,  alluvial 
lands  on  the  rivers,  proved  too  unhealthy  for  laborers  from 
Europe.  The  commercial  people  of  Old  England  and  New 
England,  in  their  search  after  profit,  purchased  slaves  in  Africa 
and  transferred  them  to  the  Southern  colonies.  Have  the 
negroes  been  injured  by  this  change?  They  were  slaves  in 
Africa,  and  subject  there  to  capricious  despotism,  which  the 
laws  of  the  Southern  States  have  relieved  them  from  by  well- 
defined  enactments. 

The  strong  animal  appetites  of  the  negroes  so  control  them 
that  they  are  incapable  of  self-government  and  self-improvement. 
They  were  but  little  superior  to  the  beasts  of  the  forest,  when 
brought  to  the  Southern  colonies  and  States.  They  are  yet  so  in 
Africa.  Under  the  control  of  masters,  they  have  been  made  the 
best  of  laborers.  They  are  now  the  producers  of  the  great  staples 
of  cotton,  rice,  tobacco,  and  sugar,  which  are  rendering  this  country 
the  richest  in  the  world,  and  creating  more  efficient  means  for 
its  advancement  in  the  arts  of  cultivated  life  than  all  other  causes 
together.  The  transportation  of  these  products  gives  the  prin- 
cipal and  surest  employment  to  Northern  shipping,  as  their 
manufacture  does  to  Northern  laborers.  Negro  slaves  thus 
profitably  employed  for  the  benefit  of  both  North  and  South,  and 
for  the  advantage  of  other  countries,  afford  the  most  indisputable 
proof  of  their  happy  condition,  by  their  unexampled  increase. 


580 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


The  three  millions  of  slaves  now  in  the  Southern  States,  are 
better  fed,  better  clothed,  less  burdened  with  work  and  care,  and 
more  joyous  than  the  lowest  class  of  the  same  numbers  of  people 
in  any  country  in  the  world  : better  than  the  same  numbers  of 
the  lowest  class  in  England  or  Erance,  in  China  or  Hindostan: 
better  far  than  the  same  numbers  of  negroes  in  Africa ; and  are 
more  comfortable  in  every  respect  than  the  Indians  who  once 
hunted  where  they  now  work. 

The  negroes  of  the  South  have,  by  their  transfer  from  Africa, 
been  enabled  to  know  something  about  the  true  end  of  their 
being.  They  have  the  Gospel  preached  to  them.  There  is,  too, 
a current  of  improved,  liberated  negro  people  passing  back  to 
Africa  from  the  United  States,  who  are  doing  more  to  enlighten 
and  Christianize  their  countrymen,  than  all  which  has  been  done 
for  that  purpose,  by  all  the  white  race  together.  These  evident 
truths  entitle  us  to  ask  our  Northern  brethren,  why  endanger 
the  Union,  and  distract  the  peace  of  the  country  on  account  of 
negro  slavery  ? 

The  happy  results  to  the  African  slaves  who  have  been 
transferred  to  this  country,  and  to  their  descendants,  who  have 
been  born  here,  have  only  been  equalled  by  the  improved,  pros- 
perous condition  of  their  masters.  Our  Northern  brethren  err 
in  their  imaginings  about  the  hardships  imposed  upon  the  negroes 
of  the  South.  When  infants,  they  are  our  fond  nurses  ; in  child- 
hood, our  playmates ; and  in  after  life,  our  obedient  and  willing 
servants.  It  does  not  enter  into  the  hearts  of  our  Yankee 
brethren  to  conceive  of  the  kindly  relations  which  exist  between 
us  and  our  negroes. 

If  the  Northern  people  believe  it  to  be  wrong  for  the  Southern 
people  to  retain  their  negroes  in  servitude,  why  do  they  not  point 
out  some  possible  way,  by  which  the  millions  of  slaves  at  the 
South  may  enjoy  liberty  consistently  with  their  own  and  the  well- 
being of  the  whites  ? If  liberated  and  permitted  to  remain  where 
they  are,  they  know  that  the  social  state  would  become  intoler- 
able to  both  whites  and  blacks  ; that  destruction  to  one  race  or 
the  other  would  inevitably  follow.  They  owe  it  to  themselves 
to  examine  well  into  their  purposes  in  continuing  to  disturb  the 
quiet  of  the  whole  country  about  our  negroes.  Is  it  that  the 
stirrers  up  of  strife  intend  only  to  gratify  their  selfish  ambition, 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


581 


by  inducing  the  firm,  strong-willed  laborers  of  the  North  to  im- 
agine themselves  in  the  place  of  the  slaves  of  the  South,  and 
serving  masters,  so  that  they  may  ride  them  into  office  ? And 
shall  the  Union  be  endangered,  the  peace  of  our  country  dis- 
turbed, the  confident  security  with  which  we  have  hitherto  enjoy- 
ed life,  liberty,  and  prosperity,  be  taken  away,  to  satisfy  lustings 
after  power  ? The  Northern  people  should  see  to  it,  that  they 
do  not  part  with  their  noble  birthright,  for  a mess  of  pottage. — 
The  Southern  people  should  understand  the  price  of  liberty  and 
good  government  too  well,  to  intrust  their  interests  long,  to  those 
who  would  lessen  their  value,  by  taking  away  their  peaceful  en- 
joyments. 


When  my  health  became  sufficiently  improved  to 
devote  some  of  my  time  to  active  pursuits,  I commenc- 
ed raising  grass,  and  making  hay.  Having  found  a 
wife  among  the  clover  fields  of  the  Valley  of  Virginia, 
sweet  milk  and  well  flavored  butter  were  indispensa- 
bles  for  her  eating  enjoyments.  The  cotton  seed,  which 
keeps  the  cows  of  the  Southern  people  alive  during  the 
winter,  gives  such  a vile  taste  to  the  milk  and  butter, 
that  I was  obliged  to  look  out  for  something  better 
than  the  market  supplied. 

The  low,  damp,  marshy  bottoms  of  the  small  streams 
and  creeks  of  the  Southern  country,  were  considered  in 
past  times  of  little  value.  They  were  with  difficulty 
cleared  of  their  heavy  timber,  and  when  they  were, 
and  cultivated  in  corn  or  cotton,  the  hasty  flooding 
rains  of  our  climate  carried  off  most  of  the  alluvial  soil, 
and  soon  left  them  sterile.  Nobody  would  be  at  the 
expense  of  twenty  and  thirty  dollars  an  acre,  for  drain- 
ing by  ditching,  when  the  fertile  lands  of  Alabama  and 
Mississippi  could  be  had  for  the  fourth  of  that  price. 

I cleared  the  low  lands  upon  a small  creek  near  my 
house,  and  sowed  it  in  herds  grass  and  clover,  and  thus 


582 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


obviated  what  reduced  such  lands  to  poverty  in  the 
hands  of  others.  Flooding  the  land  when  in  grass,  made 
it  richer  by  the  deposit  of  top  soil,  washed  from  the 
bottoms  above.  I succeeded  in  creating  a beautiful  land- 
scape,  of  what  had  been  previously  an  eyesore,  and  mak- 
ing a productive  meadow  of  what  had  generated  nothing 
but  musquetoes  and  miasma.  I provided  plenty  of  nutri- 
tious grass  in  summer,  and'hay  in  winter,  for  my  cows,  so 
that  my  wife  has  had  better  milk  and  butter  than  is 
supplied  by  the  largest  cotton  plantation,  and  more 
uniformly  plenty  of  these  good  things  than  most  are  ac- 
customed to  in  her  native  country.  I have  been  often 
amused  at  the  looks  of  distrust  and  derision,  with  which 
some  of  my  cotton-producing  neighbors  listen  to  my  di- 
rections of  how  to  make  grass  grow — their  most  pressing 
occupation  being  to  kill  it.  Every  one  who  makes  cotton 
seems  to  think,  that  it  is  better  to  have  white  frothy 
butter,  and  thin  milk,  rather  than  lessen  the  sum  of 
money  from  the  sale  of  their  crops,  by  substituting  a 
good  deal  of  grass  for  a little  less  cotton. 

Until  of  late  years,  I never  saw  a meadow  in  Geor- 
gia. Fodder  had  been  the  sole  accompaniment  of 
corn  in  feeding  horses  on  the  plantations,  though  the 
most  unhealthy  of  all  food  for  them.  My  horses  eat 
hay.  One  of  them  is  now  twenty-three  years  old,  and 
looks  as  if  he  might  do  good  work  for  many  years  more. 
My  bam  is  large,  and  three  stories  high,  is  usually  filled 
with  hay  once  a year,  and  has  never  been  empty  since 
it  was  built.  My  garden  and  lots,  are  made  rich 
through  my  hay  and  cattle.  My  corn,  peas,  potatoes, 
and  vegetables,  are  so  succulent,  that  it  does  one  good 
to  eat  them.  I have  had  cabbage-heads  all  the  year, 
in  consequence  of  manuring  well  where  each  plant  is 
grown,  and  so  can  eat  them  in  the  way  which  never 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


583 


gives  the  colic.  The  long  collards  are  given  to  the  cows. 
The  fame  of  my  hay-making  has  extended  to  the  North, 
where  it  lias  been  published,  that  I was  the  model 
farmer  of  the  South.  It  seems  to  be  loud-sounding 
praise,  but  lessens  to  nothing  when  it  is  known  that 
I am  the  only  farmer  there,  all  others  being  planters. 
During  the  last  year,  the  Agricultural  Association  of 
the  slaveholding  States  constituted  me  a member,  and 
made  me  its  President.  The  following  short  address 
upon  a matter  of  never-failing  interest,  will  I hope 
be  considered  appropriately  inserted  here. 


JAirnss, 

BY  GEORGE  R.  GILMER,  OF  GA. 
President  of  the  Association. 


Gentlemen, — The  great  number  of  planters,  who  have  as- 
sembled together  here  from  the  surrounding  States,  give  the 
most  certain  assurance  of  the  good  which  we  may  expect  to  fol- 
low from  what  we  may  do.  Improvement  in  agriculture,  which 
has  so  long  lagged  behind  advancement  in  other  arts,  is  begin- 
ning now  to  be  considered  an  imperative  necessity.  Formerly, 
whatever  was  done  in  improving,  was  effected  by  the  genius  and 
exertion  of  individuals.  Now  entire  communities  are  uniting,  to 
give  force  to  the  power  which  impels  society  forward  to  better 
its  condition  by  making  the  earth  bring  forth  increased  quantities 
of  what  is  necessary  for  man’s  well-being.  Throughout  civilized 
Europe,  the  foot  of  the  reading  clodhopper  is  upon  the  neck  of 
the  crowned  head ; triumph  begins  to  be  awarded  to  him  who 
makes  two  blades  of  grass  grow  where  only  one  grew  before, 
rather  than  to  the  skilled  in  tile  art  of  war.  In  this  country  the 
surest  passport  to  honor  and  to  office,  is  success  in  adding  to  the 
numbers  of  the  living,  increasing  the  means  for  their  support, 
and  enlarging  the  sources  of  their  enjoyment.  We  are  the  most 
obedient  of  all  people  to  the  divine  command,  “ be  fruitful,  mul- 
tiply, replenish  the  earth,  and  subdue  it : ” and  are  receiving  our 


584 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


appropriate  reward,  by  being  the  most  prosperous.  One  of  the 
great  difficulties  which  the  country  is  seeking  to  overcome, 
through  the  consultation  of  this  Convention,  is,  how  to  make  the 
replenishing  the  earth  and  subduing  it,  equal  to  our  success  in 
multiplying  the  numbers  who  are  to  feed  upon  it.  If  our  agricul- 
tural  improvements  shall  not  correspond  with  the  increasing  de- 
mands which  increasing  numbers  are  making  for  increased  pro- 
duction, we  must  soon  suffer  the  sorest  evils  from  our  neglect. 
The  world  will  not  be  enlarged  for  our  sakes. 

The  Indians  are  nearly  gone.  New  lands  and  new  territo- 
ries will  soon  cease  to  draw  off  our  surplus  population.  We 

have  reached  the  Pacific  Ocean,  and  can  go  no  further.  We 

have  been  skimming  the  top  soil  and  living  upon  its  cream  until 
we  are  beginning  to  taste  the  blue  bottom.  We  must  not  only 
discover  some  way  of  renewing  the  primitive  richness  of  our  ex- 
hausted lands,  but  force  them  to  produce  more  than  they  did  in 
their  virgin  freshness.  Our  country  is  the  most  favored  of  lands, 
in  its  peculiar  fitness  for  the  pi-oduction  of  cotton,  corn,  wheat, 
rice,  tobacco,  and  sugar. 

Our  cotton  is  the  most  wonderful  talisman  of  the  world.  By 
its  power  we  are  transmuting  whatever  we  have  into  whatever 
we  want.  It  is  adding  to  the  industry,  trade  and  commerce  of 
the  world,  as  nothing  else  does,  or  ever  did  before.  It  is  making 
its  cultivators  more  independent  than  princes,  and  richer  than 
nabobs.  Those  who  take  short-sighted  views  of  God’s  provi- 
dence and  his  creatures’  good,  sometimes  urge  planters  to  make 
less,  so  as  to  sell  it  for  higher  prices  : to  fill  their  pockets  by 
lessening  the  extent  of  its  usefulness.  We  should  be  too  sensi- 
ble of  the  value  of  the  gift  bestowed  upon  us,  thus  to  abuse  it. 
Cheapness  is  extending  demand  and  extinguishing  rival  produce, 
and  will  go  on  increasing  these  effects  until  all  civilized  nations 
will  become  united  together  by  such  strong  ties  of  interest,  that 
none  will  be  able  to  war  against  us,  without  bringing  ruin  on 
themselves.  It  is  pulling  the  helmet  from  the  soldier’s  head, 
until  he  may  soon  find  his  occupation  gone.  It  is  hastening  the 
time  when  the  trumpet  shall  proclaim  peace  on  earth  and  good 
will  to  men.  The  important  question  now  is,  how  shall  we  do 
our  duty  so  as  to  make  the  future  perform  what  the  present  is 
promising?  Let  us  improve  the  manner  of  cultivating  the  earth, 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


585 


ancl  increase  its  productive  capacity  so  as  to  make  our  homes  so 
profitable  and  cheering  that  we  cannot  but  stay  at  them,  and  go 
on  improving  them. 

Gentlemen,  we  who  have  been  the  instruments  for  assembling 
this  Convention,  have  brought  together  a great  mass  of  agricul- 
tural knowledge,  science,  and  experience.  It  is  for  you  to  make 
from  your  materials,  a light  so  bright  that  every  one,  however 
ignorant,  may  know  how  to  work  aright. 

One  of  the  most  difficult  things  to  do,  is  to  find  out 
what  to  do,  when  one  is  too  old  and  feeble  to  do  any 
thing  well.  Law  and  politics  are  too  exciting.  Money- 
making too  engrossing,  planting  too  laborious,  and 
keeping  the  spirits  up  by  pouring  spirits  down  too  over- 
powering to  be  suitable  employments  for  advanced  life. 
When  I got  up  from  the  bed  of  sickness  to  which  I 
was  confined  so  long,  in  1844,  I was  unable  to  do  any 
thing  which  required  much  exertion  of  body  or  mind. 
I commenced  daily  exercise  on  horseback,  or  in  a car- 
riage. Acting  without  object,  produced  ennui  and 
fatigue.  After  a while,  by  some  accident  or  providence, 
my  attention  was  directed  to  the  minerals  and  quartz 
crystallizations  which  cover  the  surface  of  the  earth 
around  my  residence.  The  ridings  which  in  the  begin- 
ning were  continued  with  tiresomeness  from  the  want 
of  some  immediate  and  tangible  object  in  view,  im- 
proved my  health  after  I had  acquired  a taste  for  hunt- 
ing rocks.  Treasuries  of  matter  for  thought  are  often 
unknown  or  unobserved,  because  observation  is  too 
listless  to  look  at  them.  I found  abundance  of  the 
wonderful,  where  nothing  had  been  seen  before.  In 
addition  to  the  pleasure  which  I have  derived  from  in- 
creasing good  health  through  my  daily  excursions,  I 
have  found  many  incidental  accompaniments,  which 
have  added  to  its  benefits.  I discovered  about  a mile 


586 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


from  Lexington,  in  a little  cove  formed  by  the  sur- 
rounding hills  through  which  a stream  of  water  flows, 
tire  remains  of  an  altar,  where  the  people  who  preceded 
the  Indians  made  sacrifices.  I found  a great  many 
places  where  the  people  have  secretly  dug  into  the 
earth  among  the  crystallized  quartz,  in  search  of  gold. 
I have  gone  on  carrying  home  from  each  day’s  excur- 
sion a basket  full  of  rocks,  until  my  collection  of  crys- 
tallized quartz  about  my  house  and  yard  has  become 
very  large,  and  my  cabinet  of  minerals  very  beautiful 
and  valuable.  Friends  and  strangers  have  continued 
to  add  to  it  curious  things,  of  various  sorts,  until  it  is 
now  the  means  of  giving  pleasure  to  the  old,  and  in- 
struction to  the  young.  Among  the  things  which  at- 
tract attention  are  some  very  large  and  highly  colored 
amethysts,  whose  angles  are  so  perfect,  as  to  show  that 
they  are  not  the  work  of  human  hands.  Emeralds 
from  Bogota  and  other  precious  stones  from  elsewhere ; 
marbles  from  Hindostan,  Italy,  and  Alabama ; gold 
from  California  and  Upper  Georgia;  silver  from  Peru; 
mercury  from  Mexico  ; copper  from  the  bowels  of  the 
earth  in  Mississippi  and  the  shores  of  the  Northern 
Lakes  ; spar  from  England ; agate  from  Germany ; a 
piece  of  the  rock  of  Gibraltar  ; coal  from  Pennsylvania; 
jasper  from  Connecticut;  porphyry,  zinc,  mica,  asbes- 
tus,  gypsum,  from  the  Blue  Ridge  and  Alleghany 
Mountains  ; lead  from  Illinois  ; lava  from  Etna  and 
Vesuvius;  basalt  from  the  Giants’  Causeway;  lime 
crystallizations  from  the  caves  of  Virginia,  and  ocean 
deposits  of  the  alluvial  region  of  Middle  Georgia  ; petri- 
factions of  dead  animals  and  trees ; two  ammonites  in 
the  form  of  snakes,  petrified  in  their  coil,  from  Rock- 
ingham, the  place  which  gave  me  my  middle  name  ; 
matrix  of  the  diamond  from  Upper  Georgia  ; two  rocks, 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  UPPER  GEORGIA. 


587 


each  of  which  contains  a drop  of  water  inclosed  when 
matter  assumed  its  appropriate  shape  upon  the  forma- 
tion of  the  planet,  Earth ; sand  from  the  desert  of 
Sahara ; a witch's  ball  as  big  as  a child’s  fist ; the  half 
hour  glass,  by  which  Santa  Anna  marked  the  time  for 
shooting  American  prisoners ; a dirk  handle  of  one  of 
the  Spaniards  who  accompanied  De  Soto  as  he  passed 
from  the  seaboard  to  the  Cherokee  gold  mines  ; a chip 
from  the  tree  under  which  Gen.  Oglethorpe  made  the 
first  treaty  with  the  Creek  Indians  ; a vase  made  of  the 
Georgia  live  oak  wrkick  formed  a part  of  the  timbers  of 
the  frigate  Constitution;  half  of  the  bombshell  which 
fell  through  the  roof  upon  the  floor  of  the  Cathedral 
Church  in  Vera  Cruz  when  the  city  was  beseiged  by 
the  American  army,  and  killed  and  wounded  eighteen 
or  twenty  nuns  on  their  knees ; the  first  gold  watch 
owned  by  a native  Virginian  ; a snuff-box  made  of  the 
wood  of  the  outer  coffin  which  inclosed  the  body  of 
General  Washington  when  it  was  deposited  in  the 
family  vault ; Indian  pipes,  idols,  amulets,  lances,  and 
arrowheads  ; coral  and  shells  from  the  Indian  and  At- 
lantic Oceans ; a marble  image  of  Rebekah  at  the  well 
from  the  London  fair,  with  a great  many  engravings, 
some  original  paintings,  and  a library  of  books  formed 
by  continual  additions  from  my  childhood  to  old  age. 


THE  ENT). 


1).  APPLETON  & COMPANY’S  PUBLICATIONS. 


Important  f'JtloscjJtral  SStorhs. 

i. 

PHILOSOPHY  OF  SIR  WILLIAM  HAMILTON,  BART., 

Professor  of  Logic  and  Metaphysics  in  Edinburgh  University. 

Arranged  and  Edited  by 
0.  W.  WIGHT, 

Translator  of  Cousin’s  “ History  of  Modern  Philosophy.” 

One  vol.  8vo.,  pp.  530,  well  printed.  $1  50. 

“ Sir  William  Hamilton  has  attained  to  the  very  highest  distinction  as  a philosopher,  and  in  some  respects  he  is  decidedly 
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nation, lie  combines  great  decision  and  elegance  of  style,  and  a degree  of  erudition  that  is  almost  without  a parallel.” — 
Edinburgh.  Review. 


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COURSE  OF  THE  HISTORY  OF  MODERN  PHILOSOPHY, 

By  M.  VICTOR  COUSIN. 

Translated  by  O.  W.  Wight. 

Two  volumes  8vo.,  well  printed.  Price,  $3. 

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sands in  almost  every  quarter  of  the  civilized  world.” — Edinburgh  Review. 


III. 

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From  the  French  of  VICTOR  COUSIN. 

Translated,  with  notes,  by  J.  C.  Daniel. 

One  neat  vol  12mo.  Price,  63  cts. 


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Freely  Translated  and  Condensed 

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THE  GOOD. 

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Rugby  School. 

1 large  vol.  8vo.  pp.  686.  Price,  $3. 


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FROM  THE  EARLIEST  PERIOD  TO  THE  PRESENT  TIME. 

By  M.  MICHELET,  Professeur  a la  Faculte  des  Lettres,  Professeur  a l’Ecole  Normals,  <feo. 
Translated  by  G.  H.  SMITH,  F.  G.  S. 

2 vols.  8vo.  pp.,  480  and  400.  Price,  $3  60. 


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FROM  THE  EARLIEST  PERIOD  TO  THE  PRESENT  TIME. 

By  FREDERICK  KOHLRAUSCH. 

Translated  from  the  last  German  Edition.  By  James  D.  Haas. 

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VII. 

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SONORA,  AND  CHIHUAHUA. 

Connected  with  the  Mexican  Boundary  Commission,  during  the  years  1850,  ’51,  ’52,  and  ’53. 

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In  addition  to  the  interest  connected  with  the  explorations  of  our  newly  acquired  territories  and  the  Mexican  States  adja- 
cent, this  work  possesses  unusual  attraction  from  the  detailed  account  which  it  contains  of  one  of  tho  proposed  routes  for  t> 
railroad  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific.  The  author  traversed  tho  country  near  the  parallel  of  32  degrees  North  latitude,  for 
five  hundred  miles  through  Texas,  and  about  three  hundred  miles  west  of  the  Bio  Grande,  in  the  States  of  Chihuahua  and 
Sonora,  near  the  same  line.  In  these  two  States,  which  are  now  attracting  the  deepest  interest,  he  made  extensive  journeys 
through  their  entire  length,  and  describes  with  great  minuteness  the  natural  features  of  tho  country,  so  that,  as  a guide  to 
emigrants  to  these  States  or  to  California,  the  information  will  be  invaluable. 

II. 

NICARAGUA; 

ITS  PEOPLE,  SCENERY,  MONUMENTS,  AND  THE  PROPOSED  INTEROCEANIC  CANAL 
WITH  NUMEROUS  ORIGINAL  MAPS  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

By  E.  G.  SQUIER, 

DATE  CHARGE  D’AFFAIRES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  TO  THE  REPUBLICS  OF  CENTRAL  AMERICA 

2 vols.  8vo.,  beautifully  printed,  $5  ; or,  in  1 vol.,  $4  50. 

III. 

THE  ISTHMUS  OF  TEHUANTEPEC: 

Being  the  Results  of  a Survey  for  a Railroad  to  connect  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  Oceans,  made  by  the 
Scientific  Commission,  under  the  direction  of 

MAJOR  J.  G.  BARNARD,  United  States  Engineer. 

WITH  A RESUME  OF  THE 

Geology,  Climate,  Local  G-eography,  Productive  Industry,  Fauna  and  Flora,  of  the  Region. 
ILLUSTRATED  WITH  NUMEROUS  MAPS  AND  ENGRAVINGS. 

Arranged  and  prepared  for  the  Tehuantepec  Railroad  Company  of  New  Orleans, 

By  J.  J.  WILLIAMS,  Prin.  Assist  Eng. 

One  volume,  8vo.,  with  Atlas  separate,  price  S3  50. 


D.  APPLETON  d-  COMPANY'S  PUBLICATIONS. 


Intrrating  ^nuuiam 

i. 

THE  LIFE  OF  JOHN  RANDOLPH,  OF  ROANOKE. 

By  HUGH  A.  GARLAND. 

Complete  in  1 volume  8vo.,  pp.  698,  with  2 portraits.  $1  60. 

II. 

THE  LIFE  OF  WILLIAM  PINKNEY, 

BY  IIIS  NEPHEW, 

THE  REY.  WILLIAM  PINKNEY,  D.  D. 


One  volume  Svo.,  pp.  407,  with  fine  portrait.  $2. 

Mr.  Pinkney  is  certainly  one  of  the  historical  men  of  this  country:  having  filled  some  very  important  positions  in  hei 
councils  aiul  representations,  and  occupied  an  interesting  period  of  her  history.  His  character  has  been  marked,  both  as  the 
subject  of  admiration  by  his  friends,  and  of  aspersion  and  suspicion  by  his  enemies.  This  book  comes  forth  to  defend  and 
justify,  ami  make  more  clear  what  was  ‘obviously  misunderstood  or  seemingly  misrepresented.’  The  spirit  of  the  book  is 
commendable,  and  gives  us  much  to  admire  in  the  life  of  one  ‘who  adorned  the  republic  of  letters,  and  illustrated  the  virtues 
tliui  belong  to  the  enlightened  Amorican  citizen.”' — Cincin.  Times. 


LIFE  AND  MEMORIALS  OF  DANIEL  WEBSTER. 

By  GEN.  S.  P.  LYMAN. 

Two  neat  volumes  16mo.,  well  printed.  $1. 

••These  sketches  have  been  re- written.  They  are  from  the  pen  of  Gen.  S.  P.  Lyman,  whose  general  character,  as  well 
a?  his  intimate  relations  with  the  family  of  the  deceased  statesman,  sufficiently  guarantee  their  authenticity.  A number  of  .* 
anecdotes  are  interspersed,  which  show  forth  Mr.  Webster’s  inner  man  in  the  most  engaging  light.  None  can  desire  a better  | 
portraiture  of  bis  life  and  character  than  is  here  presented.” — N.  Y.  Courier. 


IV. 


A MEMOIR  OF  THE  LATE  REV.  WM:  CROSWELL,  D.  D., 

RECTOR  OF  THE  CHURCH  OF  THE  ADVENT,  BOSTON,  MASSACHUSETTS. 

By  His  Father. 

One  handsome  volume  Svo.,  pp.  528,  portrait.  §2. 

“This  work,  which  is  composed  principally  of  the  writings  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Croswell  himself,  has  been  compiled  by  hi>  • 
father  at  the  age  of  threescore  and  ten  years.  A memoir  presented  under  these  circumstances  to  the  public,  cannot  fail  t< 
demand  universal  attention.  This  will  be  sustained  by  the  intrinsic  merits  of  the  work  itself,  which  as  a record  on  Christian 
experience,  trial,  and  consolation,  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  memorials  of  the  kind  we  have  ever  read.  Mr.  Croswell.  J 
seems  to  have  been  a man  of  quick  fancy  and  elegant  learning.  We  find  scattered  through  his  Memoir  a number  of  graceful 
poems  on  various  subjects,  but  principally  religious,  which  display  both  taste  and  talent.  But  the  sincere  and  fervent  pietv 
apparent  on  every  page  of  the  volume,  must  still  be  considered  as  its  chief  charm,  and  its  highest  recommendation  to  the  a 
class  of  readers  to  whom  the  work  especially  addresses  itself.” — South.  Lit.  Gazette. 


V. 

LIVES  OF  EMINENT  LITERARY  AND  SCIENTIFIC  MEN 

OF  AMERICA 

By  JAMES  WYNNE,  M.  D. 

One  neat  volume  12mo.  pp.,  356,  well  printed.  $1. 


I I ('• 


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